The Power of Encouraging Sentiment
by Azure Lightning Emerald Cloud
Summary: Lena isn't normal. Kara has been keeping Supergirl secret as well. What will happen when horrifying secrets about Kara's father are revealed? Reign shows up later, but very different than in Canon. Maggie's OC family plays a big role down the line. Supercorp, Sanvers, Sam/Reign, and Psi (Gayle)/Imra feature. Loosely inspired by canon events. Supergirl is not owned by me whatsoever.
1. A New Era

Author's Note: Hello! I started this cause I immediately shipped Lena and Kara, even more so when Lena gives Kara the positive feedback she needed to 'take the plunge'. If you read this and enjoy it, please send a review my way, it would make my day...unless you're uncouth. Don't be uncouth.

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The Power of Encouraging Sentiment

Part I: A New Era

Crescent wrenches were never Lena's favourite tool, but here she was, using one to unscrew a nut that had begun to irritate her. Because of course there was a bolt in the modern art piece that Charlene had requested be put in front of Lena's office. And in Charlene's defense, the rest of the piece was fine, but the nut on the bolt just threw off the whole thing for her. _It just mucks everything up. Wow, maybe I did spend too much time in Ireland, my vernacular certainly hasn't adjusted to being back in the States._

"She's doing it again," Charlene whispered to Justin as they watched their boss fiddling with the art installation from the far end of the hall. They were in a temporary business office, while the construction crews finished stabilizing L Corp.'s actual building.

"Lady Luthor hasn't messed with that sculpture before," Justin pointed out distractedly he finished with his coffee.

"I think meeting with Clark Kent and his _assistant_ messed her up." Charlene said, barely above a whisper.

Justin raised an eyebrow, "Kent? I doubt it, did you see that little nerd?" Charlene took a moment to frown at Justin, who stood well over six feet tall.

"He isn't _little_ to us normal folk, and her accent has been a bit more, _Irish_ since his visit last Thursday. He also wrote the piece that swayed the jury to convict Alexander." Charlene's voice hadn't risen in volume, but she wasn't as petrified since at the end of the hall, Lena Luthor had re-entered her office. Then the thought about it for a moment, "He also wrote that article that basically made her a hero, hell, she even shot her own would-be assassin to save some chick she didn't even know."

Justin tilted his head in agreement before deciding the whims and hobbies of Lena Luthor was simply and firmly above his pay-grade to care about. And so Justin walked back to his cubicle. Charlene quickly followed suit, her boss may worry her from time to time, but at the end of the day, she was Lady Lena Bloody Luthor, she'd be fine.

Lena was back in her office now, holding the fruit of her effort, a lone metal nut. _What is wrong with me this week?_ Lena shook her head and sagged down into her chair. _I haven't been this unbalanced since Superman sent Alexander away. Or that time when I…oh god._ She blushed slightly as she found it in herself to stop denying the revelation… _Kara Danvers;_ the not-reporter was lasciviously on her mind.

"Kara! How'd your date with James go?" Alex asked as she lounged on the couch, sporting a half-full glass of strawberry moscato. The alcohol hadn't _really_ affected the DEO agent yet, but it wasn't unaffecting, either. In fairness, Alex was a lightweight, and it wasn't her first full glass. Kara was in the kitchen, having just climbed into her pyjamas, and waiting for her Nissin noodle bowl to finish cooking in the microwave.

"It was, good," she replied, without really looking Alex's way. _Oh no,_ Alex thought as she turned her full attention to her errant sister.

"Kara…didn't you just eat?" Alex asked, eyeing the steaming noodles that Kara had just removed from the microwave, and were hanging out her mouth while the Kryptonian wore guilty look. _She looks like a literal anime character right now with those gigantic eyes_. "Ok, I'll let you off the hook for this one." Kara's eyes immediately brightened. "But you've got to tell me, how was your date with James?"

Kara was slurping down noodles at an unreal pace, pleasantly ignoring Alex. " _Kara_. Now I'm getting worried. What did he think of your choice to become a reporter?" Alex said as she rose from the couch, somewhat unsteadily. It was her lack of sea legs that alerted Kara, but not her words. She set down the empty paper noodle bowl, and streaked over to catch hold of Alex's arm, guiding her back to the couch.

"He wasn't happy." Kara muttered dejectedly. Alex stiffened, she knew there was a reason she didn't take a shine to Olsen like everyone else. "In fairness, I also broke up with him…so there's that." _Well, damn._ Alex's eyes widened hilariously, which brought a soft chuckle from Kara, but didn't totally erase her muted mood.

"You broke up with him?" Alex asked again, you know, for clarification. Kara, for the first time that evening since her return, met her sister's eyes and nodded resolutely; despite the tears, was no indecision or regret. Kara and James were done, at least romantically.

"I'm assuming there was a particular reason." Alex probed. Kara made a non-committal shrug.

"Well, there's a few, but I _know_ now that my heart isn't in it. I don't think it ever was. I couldn't see him as _James_ , just as the best photographer this side of the Mississippi. And now, I _do_ see him as _James_ , but I don't really want him." Kara let out a long breathe before continuing, "Alex, does that make me a bad person? Because I know that what I _want_ isn't, isn't…" She took a few more breaths to steady herself. Alex, for her part was seeing a new side of Kara, so she stayed silent.

"Alex, I…I'm gay… and I _like_ Lena Luthor." Kara whispered with an intoxicating smile.


	2. Broadcast News

Part II

 _Kara the Reporter. Well, I legitimately didn't expect her to go and pivot her life around something I said_ , _no matter how well meaning I was._ Lena was watching the Cat-Copter report on the car chase in progress speeding down the 504 freeway. _Rotten job that, being stuck in a bloody chopper for the day._ Lena shuddered as she turned back to her research while the Kara Danvers narrated the high-speed chase on the wall-mounted television.

"Oh no, they went through another blockade. They seem like they've got some experience with this sort of thing, because that's the third blockade NCPD set up. Oh! There's Superman." At the mention of the Kryptonian, Lena Luthor's eyes flicked back to the television, and sure enough, the streak of red and blue was flying alongside the runaway pickup truck. It almost seemed like, nope, he was _definitely_ talking to the driver. _Where is Supergirl?_ Lena's interest in the chase was now twofold as she wondered about that mystery, while also enjoying Kara's narration.

For the last several days, there had only been double-teaming going on, _why the sudden solo appearance when it's not even his turf?_ Lena had been noticing the tentative spike in petty crimes during Superman's weeklong absence in Metropolis. There wasn't any evidence that the wonder twins had swapped cities for the week, _so perhaps Supergirl is elsewhere_? A quick search confirmed that Superman was the only Kryptonian on duty at the moment, in National City, and nationwide.

The pathetic showdown was over once the Man of Steel, _awkward wording considering Stalin is a translation of that particular moniker,_ had grown bored or whatever and detained the car thief in an annoyingly predictable way. Lena couldn't hear the words Superman was saying as he held the dumb man at arm's length and eye height, but it seemed like quippy hero banter from the angle the cameraman caught the Kryptonian's expression. It wasn't as if this was a new development, Superman was far more prone to this kind of gloating than Supergirl, if the footage of her was anything to judge by, which Lena thought it was. Lena rolled her eyes, but looked on with curiosity when the chopper landed on a helipad that flanked the freeway.

The next three minutes were a hilarious frenetic rush with Kara and the cameraman to the freeway. Superman saw them and floated up to the overpass where they had taken up to get a closer angle. Lena smirked when the cameraman audibly gasped. Kara however, maintained her expression, with no deviation. Ok, so she was basically jumping up and down with glee, but that wasn't a different Kara than had walked through her door on the heels of Clark Kent. Lena shrugged.

"So, Superman, I've been a fan of yours for a long time," Kara started, which got a smile from the man of steel. "What's your favourite thing about being a hero to the people?"

Superman tilted his head in a strangely familiar way while he pondered the question before responding with, "Getting to see smiles like yours."

Kara's eyes lit up when she laughed, but she also noticeably didn't blush. _That is odd,_ Lena thought. _Surely she'd swoon for Superman. Perhaps she's actually that professional?_ Lena shook her head. _Nobody is professional enough to not swoon over Superman, at least upon meeting him for the first time._

"Aww, thanks!" Kara practically chirped. She continued with a question that actually got Lena's attention, rather than just her wandering eye, "I noticed you're working solo today, where's Supergirl?"

Superman's surprise at the question lasted only an instant, before he collected himself and chuckled, "I'd imagine she's at her day job, those bills don't pay themselves you know." Kara responded with another small laugh and agreed. "Well, I'll be off then, nice to talk to you,–"

"Kara," Ms. Danvers supplied on cue. With another smile, Superman leapt vertically into the air from a stand-still and flew laterally, heading for the coast.

Half an hour later, after Kara finished interviewing a couple FDNC people in full Kevlar coats and helmets, she closed out her report by throwing it back to the CATCO anchor. Lena turned off the television at that point, her interest having evaporated at Ms. Danvers' signing off.

 _Where was Supergirl? All of Alexander's encounters with Superman were in Metropolis_ ; _where Superman is clearly not, right now. Supergirl at a day job? That would be a sight._ Lena chuckled to herself as she imagined the blue-eyed girl as a firewoman or something. _What would a beautiful girl like that do?_

Lena's eyes bulged as she properly registered the details in that last thought.

 _A Few Days Earlier_

"Alex, I…I'm gay… and I _like_ Lena Luthor." Kara whispered with an intoxicating smile.

Alex had the obvious response, "Come again?"


	3. Confessions

Part III: Confessions

 _A Few Days Earlier_

"Alex, I…I'm gay… and I _like_ Lena Luthor." Kara whispered with an intoxicating smile.

Alex had the obvious response, "Come again?"

"I'm gay…" Kara repeated slowly, eyes wide, and so very scared.

Alex did all she could to restrain herself from rolling her eyes. "I got that part, Kara, and that's absolutely fine, I suspected for a while." Kara's jaw dropped, but Alex held out her hand to steady her sister's response, "However, _Lena Luthor_ is something else altogether." Alex finished grimly.

Kara, not really registering Alex's tone, only her words, responded with a dainty smile, "She really is."

It was Alex's jaw that dropped now, _Oh my god, she's smitten._ "But Kara, her _brother,–"_ And it was like a flip was switched.

Not that either of the girls noticed, but at that moment, the salt spilled on the table cloth from last night's pasta dinner began to steadily levitate as Kara's expression changed from serenely dreamy to hard and hurt.

Kara's emerald eyes almost glowed as she spoke in just above a whisper, " _My Aunt_ was comfortable enslaving the human race. Her husband was eager to wipe you all out. My own mother used me to lure her sister into a life sentenced to the phantom zone. She also didn't even try to help when Astra approached her to try and save Krypton."

Alex was frozen; Kara had never properly voiced those things at once before. And she wasn't done yet, "Look, I _can't_ blame Lena for Alexander's evils. It wouldn't be right, not only because it would just be mean, but I can't because my family is responsible for so, so much worse." Alex offered out a hand that Kara clasped gratefully as she took a deep breath. Alex tried to speak up, but stopped when Kara's expression changed again and there were suddenly tears in those big green eyes. "Alex, do you think less of me now you know what my family was really like?"

Kara's uncharacteristically fearful and hesitant look was heart breaking. Alex managed to get out, "Kara…"

Kara quickly shook her head. Trying, and failing, to brush her tears away; but more just took their place, "I don't know why I'm suddenly like this, and I'm sorry Alex. I don't mean to lash out. At you, least of all."

Alex pulled her sister into a fierce hug, gently stroking the silky and subtly darker blonde strands that fell down Kara's back. "Oh little sister, there's nothing to apologize for. I _need_ you to know that." Alex said steadily, even though her eyes were starting to mist over; proving once and for all, that when Kara cried, so did she. "You're right, I was hasty to trust Clark's snap judgment of Ms. Luthor. And that was wrong of me. I'm sorry." Kara just clutched her sister tighter.

"I love Clark, but sometimes he needs time, to wrestle with his prejudices before deciding to joint the 21st century. I'm glad I was raised by progressive thinkers here instead of the Kents." Alex just nodded.

Kara didn't care for the Kents that much other than that they raised baby Kal El. Alex hadn't really seen the Kents all that often, there were only a few times they got together as a big extended family, but when they did, their political leanings were sometimes quite ah, regressive. It was a wonder Clark turned out as well as he did, even if he struggled initially with accepting things like when Lucy came out to him and Lois. He always came around in the end though. Well, this time Alex wasn't too optimistic.

"So, Lena Luthor huh?" Alex asked wryly, her cynicism buried.

Kara playfully smacked her on the arm. Then something clicked, "What do you mean you 'suspected for a while now'?"

Alex burst out laughing. Kara was slightly taken aback. Even a genuine Alex smile was hard to come by, this was just…odd. "The way you looked at Lois Lane, all those years ago when Clark introduced her to us. And how you wouldn't shut up about her until you were like fifteen and discovered the Spice Girls." Alex barely got all that out through her snorting laugh.

Kara's face was as red as her cape lying on the couch. "Hey! You were just as into them as me. Actually, it was you who introduced me to them." It was Alex's turn to blush a little, but not nearly as much as Kara had.

"So, you've got that helicopter assignment coming up, did you make an enemy of Grant after all? I suppose I'll have to tell Lucy to double staff on those days since we'll be out a Supergirl." Alex said, changing tracks.

Kara raised an eyebrow as she went over to the fridge for her juice. "I'll see if Clark can be on call during my time in the Cat-copter." Alex snorted at the helicopter's name. As she pensively drank from her juice cup, Kara realised something. "Hey Alex, since when are you and Lucy on first-name basis? I thought you were really strict about maintaining proper protocol at work?" Kara said offhandedly as she went to play with the magnets on the fridge. Alex swiftly turned to face the window as to not alert Kara to the pronounced blush creeping down her neck, her unrestrained and positively un-Alex-like smile, and the flash of tightness in her chest that accompanied Kara saying that name. Unfortunately, Alex was given away by her treasonously accelerating heartbeat.

Kara spun around and stretched out a pointed finger, her cheeks briefly puffed before she remembered to swallow the mango juice. "Alex! Is there something you aren't telling me about you and Lucy?" she practically shrieked in excitement.

Kara's surprise continued when Alex turned back toward her sister, her expression was still goofy, but a little more restrained than a couple seconds ago, but her hands were fidgeting a bit when she set them on the table. Actually, when she met Kara's wide and gleeful eyes, her face actually turned as red as Kara's was when she confessed her feelings for Lena Luthor. "So, something happened with Lucy when you were unconscious after flying into space…"


	4. The Alien in the Room

Part IV: The Alien in the Room

The news banner rolled in the background, muted:

ANOTHER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST LENA LUTHOR

 _How could she be an alien? She seemed so…human._

 _Ok, so, the determined pretty green-eyed girl is in fact an alien. That's great! BUT HOW?_ She paced up and down her office before deciding to have sympathy on the folks who were undoubtedly cringing the next floor down. Letting out a sigh, she sat down on top of her desk, a particularly odd move, considering her usual primness. As she reasoned with herself, she realised she had forgot to say 'thanks" in all the hullabaloo… _oops_. That would have to be remedied as soon as she could get out of work. She turned and powered off the blaring news banner. _The attack was over 8 hours ago, repeating it over and over isn't newsworthy._ There was a knock on the door. She got off her desk and smoothed out the creases in her pantsuit, "Come in."

A young man entered, looking a little frazzled, clearly an intern. His frazzled demeanour did not spare him from her annoyed and questioning gaze. At her raised eyebrow, he blanched, but held his ground. "Um, Miss, there was a call for you placed to the front desk."

"And there was a reason you didn't just beep me to let me know?"

Despite her perfectly amicable tone, the intern winced, "We're having some technical difficulties right now, but it should be taken care of soon."

With a glance, she sent the intern out. Rising to her full height, she stood up and went to lock the door. After a short moment of fiddling with her hair, tall green-eyed beauty took a deep breath and clicked the button on her console that directed the call to hers.

 _Well, this was going to be interesting._

A couple minutes earlier, across town, another green-eyed girl was just finishing another Netflix binge, this time _Durarara! x2_. Not many people knew she watched anime. Scratch that, nobody knew she watched anime. But here she was, alone in her office, all the work done for the day, watching the stories of an otherworldly Ikebukuro. _I'd like to live there one day, see if it really is that crazy._ After finishing the third and final arc of Durarara! season 2, she settled down in a chair. After all, she never could just sit still watching invigorating shows like this.

Then it hit. Her friend deserved an explanation. She looked around and sighed. She then took the stairs at an impossible run until she reached the roof. Her hair was blowing unfettered in the wind. She picked up her cell and took a deep breath.

The other girl answered after taking several weighted breaths on the other line.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you, about me. You deserved to know."

"…"

"Are you there? Please, say something."

"I think we need to discuss this face to face. I'd like that a lot."

"I, yeah, you're right. Where would you like to talk?"

"Come by my place, I actually just cleaned it."

"Okay. I'll be right over, see you in a minute." Without further ado, she leapt off the building and took flight.


	5. The Chair

Part V: The Events Preceding the Previous and Confusing Chapter _Part One: The Chair_

"Mind if I drop in?" The elegant lady said softly.

"Oh hi Lena!" Lena smiled gently at Kara's reply. Her smile turned into a soft chuckle as Kara's deer in the headlights expression stayed there for a little while longer than normal. Eventually, she regained her senses. "Um, what are you doing here?" At the flicker in Lena's expression Kara immediately followed up with, "Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled, it's just, don't you have National City's biggest company to run?"

Lena sent Kara a small smirk, and it was super effective. "Well, when you eventually move up the ranks, you'll discover a beautiful thing called delegation."

"Delegation would be an awesome power to have right now." Kara admitted. Then her eyes got really wide as she said, "Oh my gosh, wait a minute,"

A brief interlude followed, in which Kara sprinted out from behind her desk, blew right past Lena, past the elevators, and out into the bullpen. Lena didn't have time to do more than make a very non-Lena look that was at once disarmed and befuddled. Out of Lena's sight, Kara zoomed around the office for a brief minute before returning, carrying a hefty rolling chair. She set the chair down and closed the door to her office, letting out a long breath.

"I'm sorry I didn't already have a chair for you." Kara said as she sat back down in her chair. Lena looked on for a moment before sitting in the chair that Kara had just procured for her. It wasn't lost on the CEO that it was a much nicer chair than Kara's. Her brow furrowed for an instant at that, touched by the ecstatic blonde's kindness.

There was a silence as the two of them let their eyes wander over each other. There was a perhaps surprising lack of Kara's usual awkwardness. There was just the soft sound of both of them breathing in unison, a fact that was not lost on either of them. Neither of them knew how long their pleasant bubble of silence lasted, but it was interrupted when Lena's phone vibrated. Rather than be flustered, she opened her handbag and plucked her phone from it, setting her handbag on the desk, off to the side.

Kara's eyes narrowed slightly while staring at Lena's state of the art mobile. But Kara's unspoken annoyance was quelled when Lena's jaw tightened. She didn't hit the decline option, she held it flat in her hand and just let it ring. Her usually calm demeanour cracked for a moment as hatred shone through. But her calm returned as soon as she stowed her mobile in her purse. Kara's expression flickered from annoyance to concern as Lena's eyes met hers. Kara quickly schooled her features, but not quick enough to fool Lena.

"It's fine, Kara. It's just mother." Lena said. There was clearly no need to elaborate on Lena's _feelings_ where her mother was concerned.

But, Kara couldn't help herself. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to keep you away from your actual priorities."

Lena snorted, "Look, my mother stopped being a priority for me when she sided with my brother. After he lost his trial and was sentenced to life, she joined _the cruellest_ government science program. Frankly, I think Dr. Mengele would be proud of her." Kara's eyes widened at that, _could she know?_ But Lena was done sharing about her mother. "Kara, when you're around, you are my priority." Despite her intense focus on controlling her facial features, Kara couldn't mask the colour creeping up her neck. "Do you have time for a drink?" Lena asked carefully.

"Yes!" Kara responded a little too quickly, realizing she was at work. Her eyes darted to the clock that hung above the door before letting out a small sigh, she was free in fifteen minutes. "In fifteen minutes, I'm a free woman," the Kryptonian amended with a blinding smile. She glanced at the document she was typing up with mild panic and said, "Feel free to wander around the office until I'm done."

"I'm perfectly ok sitting here until you're done," Lena said calmly as she straightened her dress. When she was done with that, she looked up to see Kara starring at her as her face became noticeably pinker. She was trying to formulate a response, but Lena put her out of her misery when she swiftly rose from her seat and walked to the door. She opened the door, but then turned back and bit her lip. "I'll be waiting," and with that, she closed the door.

Meanwhile, Kara was desperately trying to control the rising feeling in her chest, _SHE JUST ASKED ME OUT! But was that a subconscious think she did just then, biting her lip at me like that? This woman's gonna kill me. It's a date right, there's no other way to interoperate what Lena just said, is there?_

While Kara was having a feels trip in her office, Lena found herself at the threshold of Cat Grant's office. Well, James Olsen's office; for now.

The man in question was standing behind his desk, listening to a balding man who was standing, back to Lena, in front of the desk. Lena didn't _intend_ to spend her fifteen minutes eavesdropping on a conversation with CATCO's acting CEO, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let this moment pass her by. So she casually leaned against the vacant desk just outside the office, and kept an open ear.

"I already told you Lucas, I 'd like another story on Lena Luthor."

"Luthor? Why? Kara may be a noob, but her article wasn't half bad for a first rodeo," 'Lucas' responded rather snippily to Lena's ear, though naturally she agreed with the man defending Kara's work.

"I though her article lacked bite, actually. I like the work Kara put into it, but that doesn't enter into it. Luthor's alien detection devise is well, aggressively invasive. Especially since there aren't any anti-discrimination laws that were stuffed into the President's Amnesty Act." Olsen finished, although Lena could tell 'invasive' wasn't the word what was in his heart.

Lucas shrugged, "I'd rather tech like that remain in the hands of the everyman rather than a registry controlled by our government. When has a race registry ever been a success? If you're a government, the answer is always."

Olsen's voice was a tad louder now, "What?"

Lucas responded curtly, "I _said_ , if you're a government, registry has always been to their advantage. The Third Reich got to wipe out the Jews in large numbers, American registry and internment of the Japanese Americans during the same war worked out gloriously for our government." At this, Lena's eyes narrowed, _perhaps I should reconsider who I sell my detection devise to. I mean, it clearly didn't work, so that decision won't have to be made for a while, if I even decied to sell it to anybody._ Her qualms were interrupted when James made an exasperated sound.

"Lucas, are you seriously–"

"–Advocating for an Alien Registry on the level of World War Two's scale? No. I am not. Totally morally indefensible, yes, I didn't disagree with what Kara's first draft which was much more fiery than what we printed. But the thing is Olsen, we have a lot of readers that might not balk at the idea of being able to know when an alien like Supergirl with far less grace enters their shop." Lucas let out a sigh before continuing, "It wasn't so long ago the last person who sat in your chair was thrown from this very balcony," he said making a harsh gesture with is left hand, "not to mention when we all almost died. When that ringing signal of alien origin nearly wiped out humanity." Lucas took a moment before his tone changed completely, "speaking of, where _is_ your chair?"

James shook his head, "Fuck if I know."

Lena's jaw dropped at that realisation, Kara had _stolen her boss'_ chair, just for her. And for the first time in a long time, Lena full on blushed.


	6. Lights Inside Their Eyes

Part VI: The Events Preceding the Previous and Confusing Chapter _4 Part Two: Lights Inside Their Eyes_

Lena was still outside the office when the conversation inside died on that note about the chair. "Well, it seems like Danvers and Luthor have reached some kind of understanding at any rate, she told me that Luthor has taken a shine to her."

"Luthor? As in the sibling of the sociopathic murderer Lex Luthor?" Olsen asked, who apparently had zero tact. Lena couldn't help her teeth gritting at the double-whammy of Olsen mentioning Alexander, while in the same sentence equating the two of them.

"Is there any other kind of Luthor?" Lucas started, and though he could not feel it, she was skull-fucking him with the sharpest of glares. However, she was taken aback at what the veteran editor said next, "Perhaps there is more than one kind of Luthor, after all, there is more than one image we were able to salvage from Supergirl's encounters with the Rogue Kryptonians to make the logical leap that she was close with their leader." Separately, James and Lena both raised their eyebrows impressively high. _What is he talking about,_ Lena wondered. "The images actually came from a security camera that those black ops folks forgot to wipe, the _only_ time they were sloppy cleaning up their tracks, by the way. Cat Grant wouldn't let us publish it. It was footage of one of the black ops women killing their leader with some wicked green sword." Lena's hand jumped to her mouth, _they have a kryptonite sword?_

Lena's internal thoughts interrupted her hearing of the conversation, so she missed whatever Olsen's reply was. She came back to the conversation when Lucas said, "That was enough to go to print right then, but Supergirl arrived and well, she clearly knew her adversary, and was quite close to them too. Supergirl was almost inconsolable. I'd guess the dead woman was family." _Family?_

That was as much of the conversation as Lena heard as a flash of blonde near the elevators drew her attention. Kara was bouncing up and down, waving at her. Nearly reluctantly, Lena pulled herself away from the conversation she'd been eavesdropping on. Though in fairness she wasn't too upset, spending time with Kara was much more desirable than even eavesdropping on an interim CEO.

When she arrived at the elevators, she smiled, "That was pretty quick!"

Kara nodded and replied, "Knowing you were waiting was pretty good incentive."

The Luthor took a moment to look Kara up and down, shamelessly drinking in Kara's not so subtle wardrobe change before her, "You're stunning," Lena breathed.

The reporter made a slightly flailing gesture that could have been an attempt to brush off the complement, though upon realising how ridiculous it looked she turned to call the elevator in a clear attempt to hide the blush creeping up her neck. It was all Lena could do to supress her laughter as Kara turned away from her, but she managed it somehow. _Nailed it_ , _and so did she. That pantsuit and scarf combo with that long half-skirt is fucking gorgeous._

When they were at the bottom of the building, Kara pulled out her phone to summon an Uber, but at the appearance of the black Escalade, quietly put her phone away with a stunned expression on her face. "Didn't realise I had my own ride?" Lena asked with a playful smirk. Lena gracefully opened the door for Kara, who not quite as gracefully clambered into the car. Kara was too busy righting herself to notice Lena's small chuckle. It seemed the driver had been told their destination beforehand since there was no visible communication between her and Lena.

"Where did you have in mind?" Kara asked as she secured her seatbelt.

"Oh, it's a surprise," Lena replied crisply.

Kara raised an eyebrow, and held it there for a while before Lena relented, "Ok, fine. It's a small bar I discovered not too long ago. Apparently it's been marked as a historical building. Is that alright with you?" Lena finished, turning to Kara.

"Yeah, it sounds great!" the green-eyed blonde replied with a grin. She started a little as her phone buzzed in her purse, which she swiftly took out intending to switch to airplane mode. However, once she saw the message, she typed out a lightning fast reply and stowed the phone back in her purse. She raised her eyes to meet Lena's 'trying not to look curious and failing miserably at it' gaze. "It's my sister, she was looking to start a relationship with a co-worker, but then she got re-assigned to Gotham. So they both kinda knew it wouldn't work out and ended it." Kara supplied. "Plus the girl's father was despicable, military type and all." Kara's eyes narrowed at that, and Lena was slightly taken aback at the real venom in Kara's voice, the first time she ever heard that tone from the reporter. It was like the sunniness that was Kara dimmed for a moment.

Kara's pronoun usage wasn't lost on Lena, though perhaps even better than Kara mentioning her sister was sapphically involved, it was the nonchalance of her tone of voice. "I'm sorry about that." Lena didn't know what else to say.

Kara shook herself out of the doldrums and her normal sunny disposition returned like it had never left. "Sorry for bringing down the mood, Lena. It doesn't happen often, I promise!" Kara's eyes were unsettlingly puppy-like as she matched emerald eyes with Lena.

Lena let out a soft chuckle, "I believe you Kara, and frankly, bringing down the mood is my department. I wouldn't want you encroaching on my turf." Kara laughed lightly at that.

Lena genuinely smiled too, despite the joke being at her expense. Once Kara had sobered up, she said, "It's alright with me if you've got some darkness in you, Lena." The Luthor's eyes widened at Kara's stunning change in demeanor from sunny to serious. It wasn't a bad kind of serious, because she still exuded warmth, but it was definitely a tone that wasn't to be ignored lightly. Lena turned to look into Kara's eyes as she resumed, "Don't be a afraid to let it out once in a while." Kara softly, subconsciously, laid her right hand over Lena's left fist, resting on the seat between them.

Kara's words were having an effect on Lena, _Conceal it, I'm not crying right now, not on our first time out together. She's only said like two sentences!_ Lena's inner words were useless as her eyes began to prickle with the telltale sensation of tears filling her eyes to the brim. Lena turned back as Kara comfortingly squeezed Lena's hand; "You've got lights inside your eyes. You've got a light there that has no right being eclipsed by your darkness."

Lena's breath hitched as she felt her face began to heat up. _Nobody's ever said something like this to me before;_ was Lena's last thought before their car was impacted suddenly and viciously from the passenger side.

Lena, who had neglected her seatbelt from the start, flew onto Kara, the entire car then spun across the intersection before coming to a halt with the driver's side now facing the delivery truck that struck them.

"KARA!" Lena shouted as the sound of twisted metal came to an abrupt halt.

"I'm fine," Kara said a little more calmly. _She's far more level-headed than she should be, is she going into shock?_ Lena's thoughts were whirling around her mind for a moment before she noticed Kara looking at her strangely. That's not to say Kara wasn't incredibly relieved, even in Lena's state of adrenaline rush, she could make out the dissipating fear in the reporter's face. "You're okay?" Kara said, bot a question and an answered prayer.

That's when Lena noticed a several tall figures emerge from the truck that rammed them. Lena looked quickly to her driver, but she was clearly unconscious or dead. Lena didn't have time to decipher which, as the five people who got out of the truck were furnished with powerful guns.

"Kara, get down!" Lena shouted while grabbing Kara and flipping their positions, so it was Lena in the path of the bullets as their maelstrom began to shred the already battered Escalade.


	7. Lena

Part VII: The Events Preceding the Previous and Confusing Chapter _Part Three:_ Lena

The bullets tore the car apart. The five shooters weren't going for any sort of finesse, the entire broadside of the vehicle was shot to hell. After Lena was over Kara the whole time, shielding her.

But despite her efforts, there was still blood soaking hers and Kara's hair, and the floor of the car. _No, no, no, KARA!_

The gunfire stopped, the gunners got into another car that just pulled up for them, and they peeled out of there. Several seconds later, the delivery truck they used as a battering ram exploded, bringing down the pedestrian overpass that was above it, the explosion devouring a group of teenage boys walking back from a soccer match.

Lena noticed none of these things. Her world was limited to the blood that had dribbled into her eye, and onto Kara's forehead. Lena's heart was racing, she gently shook Kara, whose eyes were scrunched closed. "Kara, oh Kara please don't be dead," she entreated of her only friend.

Something moved in the corner of Lena's left eye, so naturally her gaze followed it. If Lena weren't so preoccupied with Kara's welfare, she would've been sick right then. The brain matter and skull fragments of her driver were littered over what seemed like the whole of the car. Lena's tears were immediate. _I'm so sorry_ _Gráinne._ The female driver had been driving Lena since her adoption by Lionel Luthor all those years ago. She used to give the young and timid girl candy when Lillian specifically forbade the child such things.

Lena was pulled out of her sorrow for her driver by Kara's breathing beneath her. "Kara?" The girl in question opened her eyes and they were immediately filled with worry.

"Lena, where are you hurt?" There was a horror in Kara's eyes that Lena hadn't accounted for. No pain whatsoever, just fear. Lena quickly got off of Kara, since until that point she had been using her whole body as a shield.

Ruined bullets fell to the floor, making small thuds as they cascaded down Lena's back _._

"Lena? Are you a…" she drifted off.

The Luthor gave a silent nod as she helped Kara up, her eyes raking the blonde for injuries. "Kara, right now, I need to know if you're ok." Lena got out before she cleared her throat.

Kara took a couple deep breaths. They were both sitting down on the seats, Lena's ear picked up the sound of a lone siren, followed by several more. Once Kara had collected herself, she said, "I'm not hurt." She took a short look at the driver and shivered.

"I'm fine Kara, I'm alright. Bullets don't pierce my skin." Lena said softly as she squeezed Kara closer to her. _To think how close I was to losing her…_

"Lena," Kara said slowly as she ended the hug. Lena raised her eyes as the other girl's voice grew suddenly much stronger. Lena's eyes were tearing up. Despite not being in danger herself, losing Gráinne, and almost losing Kara was putting her into a near state of shock.

Kara's eyes were multicolour in that moment as her glasses reflected the dying sunlight unequally. Her left eye dark green and her right eye pale blue. The siren was getting closer. Lena brushed away her tears and quickly opened the door with the bullet holes, and checked to see if there were any people watching, or cameras, and when she was satisfied she was unobserved save for Kara, she took the door off the car and tossed it on top of the building across the street, like a perfectly thrown Frisbee. It was at least a 20-metre throw. She then quickly got back into the car said, "We could just say Supergirl showed up and saved us. I don't want people to know about me. Please?" she pleaded. Lena searched Kara's eyes for fear, and was miraculously failing to find it in those iridescent orbs.

The atmosphere changed, Lena could feel it. Kara had found something in Lena's eyes, the answer to a very important question. She then squinted over Lena's shoulder at the lone police car that had just skidded to a stop 30 feet away and let out a sigh of relief. "Lena," Kara repeated slowly, hands trembling as she reached for her glasses. Once she righted them, she lunged forward suddenly, wicked fast, and before Lena knew what hit her, she was nose deep in Kara's golden mane. Lena slowly put her arms around Kara, returning the hug. "I'll never out you Lena. I need you to believe that." Lena nods into Kara's shoulder.

That's how the cops found them. To Kara's relief, Maggie Sawyer wasn't among them. It wasn't that Kara didn't like Detective Maggie Sawyer, it was just that she's far more inquisitive than the rest. A simple, 'Supergirl swooped down and took the door off. Then she protected us from gunfire, but she had to make the choice to save us two or the driver,' wouldn't have totally convinced the Science Division cop. Luckily for the two girls, it convinced the beat cop who made the initial report, and where Supergirl was involved, nobody important asked any questions. Since it wasn't a supernatural occurrence, DEO wasn't swarming over the place, so Kara was left to sit with Lena on the back of one of the ambulances.

They both had towels over their shoulders. Lena wasn't saying anything; her hands were trembling. Kara decided to speak first, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't need a little time to think." Lena tensed up and closed her eyes, fearing the worst. _She thinks I'm a monster. She's not even that wrong–_ "A few hours from now I'll be ready to talk. I'll give you a call tonight. I think my sister will be–," Another squad car pulled up and two women got out, Lena recognized Alex Danvers as one of them. "Yep she's already here." Kara let out a breath before admitting, "You're not the only one keeping a humongous secret."

Lena looked up at that, confused. _What could Kara not be telling me? She's just so_ _ **Kara.**_

Kara reached out to steady Lena's hand with her own. She briefly sent a pointed eleven-metre look towards her sister that said, 'not yet'. Alex reluctantly halted her beeline towards the ambulance to accommodate her sister's wish. Just before Kara turned back to Lena, she saw Maggie place a calming hand at her sister's elbow. Kara gazed into her date's glorious emerald eyes and asked softly, cracking a grin, "Is Lena your name? Or is the Luthor family just obsessed with alliteration?"

Despite it all, Lena couldn't restrain the honest burst of laughter, a long peal of mirth that was like a fresh breeze to Kara's heart. Lena let out a breath once her laughter subsided. "No," she confessed, "You've got some stellar intuition. No, Lena's not my birth name, and you're really onto something with my family's affinity for 'L' words." _L words… great job Lena._ Lena paused for a moment before continuing, "The girl I was before died on my home planet with everyone who knew it, and even my memories of them have mostly faded."

Kara looked taken aback, "I'm sorry, I, I shouldn't pry–,"

Lena shook her head quickly, "No, you're fine Kara, you're fine."

Alex could be restrained no longer, Kara notices this and decides to not inflict her worried sister on Lena. "We'll talk about it later, like tonight?" Kara asked as she got up to head her protective sister off.

"Sounds perfect," Lena spoke softly as she watched Kara emphatically reassure her sister she was fine.

The paparazzi and civilians alike were now crowding the police's caution tape perimeter, the cop who came with Alex Danvers, whose name Lena did not know, was walking toward her. From where Lena was sitting, she could easily make out the 'Science Division' badge on the woman's belt. Lena tilted her head back unashamedly and groaned, _this is going to be a long day._


	8. Honest Evening Wear

Part VIII: Honest Evening Wear: In Which a Past Chapter May Make Some More Sense, I Hope.

The news banner rolled in the background, muted:

ANOTHER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST LENA LUTHOR

 _How could Lena be an alien? She seemed so…human. But then again, so do I…mostly. Ok, I have my moments._

 _So Lena Luthor is in fact an alien. That's great! BUT HOW?_ Kara paced up and down her office before deciding to have sympathy on the folks who were undoubtedly cringing the next floor down. Letting out a sigh, she sat down on top of her desk, a particularly odd move, considering her usual primness. As she reasoned with herself, she realised she had forgot to say 'thanks" in all the hullabaloo… _oops_. That would have to be remedied as soon as she could get out of work. She turned and powered off the blaring news banner. _The attack was over 8 hours ago, repeating it over and over isn't newsworthy._ There was a knock on the door. She got off her desk and smoothed out the creases in her new pantsuit, "Come in."

A young man entered, looking a little frazzled, clearly an intern. His frazzled demeanour did not spare him from her annoyed and questioning gaze. At Kara's raised eyebrow, he blanched, but held his ground. "Um, Miss, there was a call for you placed to the front desk."

"And there was a reason you didn't just beep me to let me know?"

Despite her perfectly amicable tone, the intern winced, "We're having some technical difficulties right now, but it should be taken care of soon." _Well, with Winn having moved to the DEO, technical difficulties were bound to happen._

With a glance, she sent the intern out. Rising to her full height, she stood up and went to lock the door. After a short moment of fiddling with her hair, tall blue-green-eyed beauty took a deep breath and clicked the button on her console that directed the call to hers.

 _Well, this was going to be interesting._

A couple minutes earlier, across town, Lena Luthor was just finishing another Netflix binge, this time _Durarara!_. Not many people knew she watched anime. Scratch that, nobody knew she watched anime; and truthfully, it was one of her favourite things about this planet. But here she was, alone in her second apartment, all the work done for the day, watching the stories of an otherworldly Ikebukuro, Tokyo. _I'd like to live there one day, see if it really is that crazy._ After finishing the third and final arc of Durarara!'s second season, she settled down in a chair. After all, she never could just sit still watching invigorating shows like this. And today was a day for escapism.

She stood and looked out the window. In the distance, she could make out the shape of L Corp's main headquarters. And not too far away from that, she could also pin-point another one of her residences in the penthouse inside the tallest building in the skyline. _such a lonely place,_ the CEO thought absently.

Then it hit. Kara deserved an explanation. Lena looked around and sighed. She then took the stairs at an impossible run until she reached the roof. Her hair was blowing unfettered in the wind. She picked up her cell and took a deep breath.

Kara answered after taking several weighted breaths on the other line.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you, about me. You deserved to know." Lena said hurriedly and uncharacteristically nervous.

"…"

"Are you there? Please, say something." Lena pleaded.

"I think we need to discuss this face to face. I'd like that a lot." Despite what her words might suggest, Kara's tone was exceptionally warm.

"I, yeah, you're right. Where would you like to talk?" Lena gathered herself, relieved.

"Come by my place, I actually just cleaned it." Kara said. Lena could hear Kara clearing away some things off a table on the other end of the line with her enhanced hearing.

Lena's trademark grin returned as she said, "Okay. I'll be right over, see you in a minute." Without further ado, she leapt off the building and took flight.

As she felt the mists of cloud caress her body, she began to think about how the hell she was going to explain all this to Kara. _And what did she mean by she 'had a big secret to tell me'? Well, I'll find out soon._ Lena landed softly, and gracefully in an alley a couple blocks away from where Kara's apartment was.

The cold didn't bother her, the only reason she knew it was cold right then was when a young girl across the street who was walking a much-too-larger-for-her-to-be-walking dog, slipped on an ice patch wound up on top of her Newfoundland; who didn't seem to notice, and proceeded to trot a little faster, forcing the little girl to cling to him as if her were a small pony.

Lena stood there watching the girl squeal indignantly as her dog carried her the rest of the block before turning a corner, out of Lena's sight. _Well, that was…new._ The next thought was, _I NEED ONE._ Perishing _that_ thought, she shook her head with a grin before entering Kara's apartment building.

Moments later, Lena rubbed her hands together nervously as the elevator dinged at Kara's level. She remembered the first time she had come here a couple months before, unannounced, and clearly interrupting something between the Danvers sisters. _Hopefully this won't be as awkward as that was._ She stood outside Kara's door for a couple minutes, just breathing deeply, but quietly. _How the hell do I even start this conversation? It's not like I wasn't lying to her the whole time I knew her. And yeah, I took some bullets for her, but it was such a small thing of me to do, there was no risk for me there. I already lied to her face, she's not the only friend in this city, she's my only friend period._

 _I don't want to make her cry…_

She was so absorbed was she in her thoughts, Lena didn't realise she was still wearing the anime-themed, very un-Luthor-like sweatpants and top she had sat down to watch _Durarara!_ with over two hours ago…until after she had knocked. The final thought she had before she heard Kara close the distance on the other side of the door was: t _hat's just great, I might as well be a bloody anime character._


	9. Table Talk, AKA Surprise!

Part IX: Table Talk, AKA Surprise!

Kara was hardcore cleaning, which entailed a totally not at all stressed out use of her super speed. Initially, inviting Lena over seemed like a great idea, and then she remembered her fib on the phone, 'I actually just got it cleaned', _yeah right_. Well, exactly four minutes after hanging up, she was done. _She'll be here soon!_ It _would've_ taken less than thirty seconds to clean using her powers, but her damn near super ability to misplace miscellaneous items was second to none…except her super massive black hole of a stomach.

In the dimness of her apartment lights, her eyes didn't seem to have a set colour, instead varying with each head tilt and reflection of her glasses. _Am I forgetting anything?_ Her head cocked to the left while she finished up that thought, _Yes. I just won't know it until I know it._

 _KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK_

The knocks on the door were in a vaguely familiar cadence, but at the moment Kara wasn't really paying enough attention to recognize it. She took a deep breath. And another. As she slowly walked over to the door, she held out both hands straight out in front of her with her long fingers splayed out. The left hand was still as stone, while her right hand trembled fiercely. _Well, that's nothing new, just normal nerves._

She was so preoccupied with getting to the door; she didn't even use her penetrating vision to glimpse Lena standing in the hallway. So when she swung the door open for her guest, she was in for the pleasantest of surprises.

"…uh…"

"Hi, Kara," Lena winced internally, and a little bit outwardly as she took in the gobsmacked expression of the adorable reporter.

It took Kara a few moments, but she eventually stepped aside and gestured to let Lena in. The was- _so_ -not-ready-for-that look was plastered to her face. Lena swiftly crossed the threshold and took less than three steps in before realising she had not planned any of this out. Luckily, Kara had regained her composure by this point and got out, "Would you like anything to drink?"

Lena turned back from surveying the place and considered for a moment before replying with a small smile, "Water would be more than fine Kara."

"Awesome, coming right up," Kara said before opening her fridge to pull out a fresh bottle of Evian out of fridge and nearly bolts over to the cabinet to retrieve a couple glasses. Despite her equivalent level of nervousness, Lena finds Kara's zipping around the kitchen quite charming.

Once that was sorted out, they sat down on stools at the small table in the centre of the room, facing each other.

Kara sipped her water, her eyes quite wide. Lena on the other hand decided to abandon decorum and downed her glass in one go. Kara reached out with her left hand and poured her a second glass, which also disappeared just as quickly. Glass number three however was simply sipped from. "Are you okay?" Kara asked

Lena held out her right hand, fingers splayed out, exactly like Kara had before. Her was rigidly still. "I'm an… wait, Kara I'm sorry I need to do this, but every part of this conversation and this topic is off the record." Lena's eyes showed a fear that rarely reared its head, and Kara wasn't oblivious to it.

Instead of taking offence, Kara responded, "Lena, all of our conversations are off the record unless Jess is letting me into your office and I explicitly tell you it's an interview. I will never, _never_ use anything else. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I betrayed you." Kara gently reached a lightly shaking right hand out to grasp Lena's still one, and upon contact, Kara's stilled as well. "Lena, I _need_ you to understand that. _You are safe with me_ ," Kara finished quietly as she squeezed Lena's hand gently. Despite the tenderness of the moment, Kara was still slightly taken aback at Lena Luthor's vulnerability; even when she believed she was, in every way, the most powerful person in the room.

Lena nodded her head quickly, eyes closed as she let out a long-held breath in a small rush. "Thank you, Kara. You mean…you can't understand how much that means to me."

Kara's eyes crinkled as her face formed a smile that Lena couldn't quite decipher. It looked a little…guilty?

Lena looked down at their joined hands before she decided to go all in. "Kara, I'm not going to conceal one of the most fundamental truths about me from you any longer: I'm an alien." Kara nodded slowly, eyes level and serious, but quite kind too. _Well, Kara's taking this several times better than I had imagined._

"You took bullets for me." Kara said simply. "Thank you." And she really meant it too; setting aside the fact that Kara now knew they were both impervious, it was still a strong action that Lena took to save Kara in the car.

Lena nodded, "I did, but it was nothing for me. I was never in danger, Kara. It's not as if I was a human laying down my life for you." Her words were candid, but it sat bitterly in Lena's mouth. _I would though, lay down my life for you. Even if we've not even had a first date yet. Do I value my life so little or is Kara truly worth that sacrifice? What's wrong with me?_

As the CEO internally winced at how cruel that may have sounded, Kara's response garnered a quizzical look from her: a simple smile of understanding. Kara's eyes were staring into the eternal depths of the wall over Lena's shoulder, suddenly in wandering thought. Lena didn't say anything as Kara refocused her eyes on the woman sitting opposite her, and considered a few different things to say before starting with, "Do you want to talk about it, with me?"

Lena was for some reason infinitely grateful for Kara's small gesture of compassion: not immediately trying to satisfy her own curiosity. _She must have that thought on the edge of her tongue, 'what kind of alien are you?' Heh, 'Do you want to talk about it?' Please Kara, never stop being pure of heart._ "Yeah, I'd really like that." Lena breathed out, the crushing burden of secrecy slowly dissipating.

Kara made an odd facial expression then. _It's almost like her eyebrows are at war with her cute wrinkling nose_ , Lena thought. "Okay. I'm gonna do this." Lena's eyebrows climbed her forehead, making her vibrant verdant eyes even more prominent. Kara got lost for a moment in those eyes before letting out a comical whoosh of breath before she said, "Lena, if you're going to be well and truly honest with me, then I've got no business being quietly dishonest with you. We should start this conversation, which will be hopefully the first of many heartfelt ones, on equal footing. I owe you that, at least." And with no further ado, she plucked her glasses off of her head, and lightly blew into her full glass of water, which promptly froze. Without missing a step, she closed her right eye while a small blue vector of unadulterated energy shot out of her left and thawed the water to a light steam…that she cooled down again. Kara then took in Lena's blindsided expression and Kara felt the unmistakeable prickling of shame behind her eyes.

The whole little display took less than ten seconds. Sixteen seconds later, Lena's shock had vanished, and was replaced with a slow smile. Her head tilted to the side as she let out a nervous chuckle deciding to lay down all the cards, "You wouldn't happen to be genetic cocktail cooked up by the Argo City based Science Guild as well would you? Or would that be too much of a coincidence?"


	10. By Moonlight

Part X: By Moonlight

Kara's jaw dropped, in horror. _Her eyes, I can see it there, the light was gone for a moment. When she said that. Her light dimmed._ Lena was still chuckling, though Kara could see through the CEO's hollow trauma-suppressing smile.

 _My father was the Director of the Science Guild… he is responsible for Lena being a 'genetic cocktail'? Why, how? How did I ever think my parents were good?_

Kara's eyes began to water.

Watching Lena's deflection of her past was just hollowing. "Lena, what do you mean by that?" Kara's voice was demure. As if she was expecting Lena's words to wound her.

"Kara, I'm fine. I'm over it. Why are you so–,"

Kara's tears blurred her vision as she almost made a horrible confession. The tears alone were enough to stop Lena. "Kara, what's wrong?" Lena asked, her tone switching from flippant to worried on a dime. "Hey, it's alright. Kara." Lena got out of her seat and walked over to Kara, bringing her into a hug. "What's…" Lena let out a sigh and held Kara to her closely. While she was very much sexually awakened by their proximity, pushing those feelings was made easy when she took a glance at Kara's utterly broken expression. _Kara needs me. My lust and affection will just have to wait a little longer; it's really that simple._

Lena quickly realised that no matter how she may phrase her questions, the beautiful girl in her arms would only speak on her own terms. Though Lena couldn't see it, since her face was partially–gloriously–burrowed into dirty blonde hair, Kara's face went through a rapid progression of expressions. Pain, guilt, sadness, but the one she _chose_ to settle on was pride. Pride, that the girl who was now giving her comfort despite downplaying a horrific childhood, the kind that should only be reserved for tragic backstories in stories, and all of it at the hands of Kara's own father. _Maybe he didn't know….No. He ran the Guild._

 _He knew. He hurt Lena, as a CHILD._

And that was the thought that started the sobbing. It wasn't the cute sniffling like in the romantic comedies, or even some dramas. Kara was full-out ugly crying into Lena's shoulder.

Lena just held her. There was really not much else to do. They stayed like that for a while, illuminated in the moonlight shining through the foggy window.

Maggie Sawyer had questions. She had just received a solemn pat on the shoulder from her friend Torres after Maggie had returned from taking on the burden of informing the family of one of the boys who died during that day's attack at the overpass. Maggie glanced at the clock and looked back down at her phone.

' _Margaret, I'm sorry I'm just done. Done with you. You've made your choice, and you chose work. And while I'm talking about it, I saw you with that auburn slut. The way she looked at you bothered me, but the way you returned her fucking heart eyes made me sick. I almost couldn't kiss you that night at all. You were able to look at her like that and then try to go down on me not an hour later? You're a fucking sociopath Margaret, and I'm sorry I'm doing this over an email, but I can't even look at you anymore. You might as well be fucking that red-haired Fed whore for all you've done to our relationship. Goodbye Margaret, I thought you were the one. Never have I been so wrong in my life._

 _-your ex-fiancée_

It had been more than a week, and Maggie had looked at that message every day. After a precursory search, she found that her ex-fiancée had moved back to Central City. Sociopath. There was a ton of things Maggie had become used to being called; Blue Springs had less than five hundred people, and one out lesbian. Of course she'd been called all sorts of things related to her sexuality. But sociopath was crossing a new bridge, a poorly constructed bridge that screamed danger. It was a word that tore into _her._ It was at least a decade since she had been even the slightest bit ashamed of loving women. Her Sapphic alignment was untouchable, so the things that she was called back home might as well be bullets, and she was Supergirl.

Attacks on her as a human, for her choices. For her choices where _Alex_ was concerned. That shit stung.

On the way home in the incomplete dark, she saw a figure flying through the air at low altitude, a woman, judging by the hair flying behind her. Notably dark hair, _so it's not Supergirl. Well, I hope she's having a better night than me._ She noted the flying woman was also wearing what looked like sweatpants with cartoon characters faces on them, and she was heading vaguely in the direction of where she knew both Danvers lived. Being a detective was not something she could just turn off after all.


	11. Maggie Got Her Gun

Part XI: Maggie Got Her Gun

Maggie made a split decision and roughly made a U-turn to see the mysterious flying woman descend in the general direction of downtown, Catco, L-Corp and several other notable sites including Maxwell Lord's building and both Danvers' respective apartments. _Fuck this. That weird flying chica may not be an angel, but perhaps she's a sign all the same._ So, unaided by GPS, she made her way towards Alex's apartment.

The alarm on her phone went off: alien activity downtown. The same alert she blackmailed that DEO nerd into setting up on her mobile.

 _Shit. I guess_ that _detour will have to wait._ She altered course to head towards where her comrades in the Science Division were indicating an altercation was taking place. She was off duty, the lads had pitched in to cover her shift. They all agreed she needed a couple day's off in a row since she was so morose after her first real break up in years.

By the time she got there, the street was already a ruin. Supergirl was nowhere in sight. The belligerent wasn't as large as the last few deadlies had been, but it had no issue painting the cement with blue bloods. He was grey skinned, with fingers like talons. His legs were morphed into something resembling hooves, granting him terrifying agility. As the last of her unit fell, she stopped her car, and got out, guns in hand. She held her fire though, the creature was only six and a half feet tall, as far as aliens went, not too shabby, but far from unmanageable.

She fired then, unloading her pistol while slowly advancing on the alien that had just murdered her team; _her_ men and women. And more than three of them just had their brains dashed across the asphalt. Maggie didn't cry. She did not shout. She let her bullets carry her emotions…right into that alien's big bright yellow eyes. The following roar reverberated upon the glass of the buildings framing the street. The rest of the bullets struck him with little thuds but with no real effect. She heard the sound of tires screeching to a halt.

The alien charged, and unfortunately Maggie was not prepared for his speed. Before she could do much more than hoist her shotgun, he was upon her. Still howling from his recent blindness, he swept his right hand at her, aiming for a decapitation. Maggie ducked and extended her arm, mounting her shotgun at his throat, which shimmered, even in the limited light.

Two things happened at once: Maggie pulled the trigger, and the alien successfully tagged Maggie.

The hollow roar of the shotgun silenced the alien's screams, as his head was blasted ten feet backward, body still firmly rooted to the ground. Maggie flew through the air, and slammed into a nearby car, dousing the distance between her stand and the car in red.

Maggie's vision began to fail then, blood was trickling into her eyes, but as she lost consciousness, she perceived two things: a female voice shouting her name, _Alex?_ And her shotgun lying on the ground several paces away, with her arm cradling the gun, and finger still on the trigger.

"Alex, you need to slow down, what happened!?" Winn yelled back into his earpiece. He looked at his boss, J'onn standing with bot hands splayed on the centre table; a tenser look than usual on his face. He made a swift gesture with his chin, and Winn obeyed just as swiftly. He tapped a button and suddenly Alex's voice was on in J'onn's earpiece as well, in a frantic tone that none of them had heard since Kara had been thrown into the sea after losing a staring match with a bomb.

"INCOMING EMERGENCY MEDICAL, FEMALE, 27,…" Alex's heaving breaths were the only intelligence that was available to the DEO HQ for a few moments. This was new though. Even when Kara was badly injured, Alex had kept her composure. Her ragged breaths told them everything they needed to know.

"Prep Surgery!" J'onn bellowed.

Alex was back, "I'M LOSING HER J'ONN! WE'RE NOT MAKING IT BACK TO HQ, PLEASE ADVISE NEAREST AID. It's Maggie," Alex's voice cracked on the last bit before she broke off.

J'onn nodded to agent Vasquez and she had just as quickly pulled up a route for Alex. "Alex, what is the nature of her injury?" Vasquez asked calmly, but ever so efficiently.

"Massive head and chest trauma, and she," As Alex gulped, Winn, J'onn, and Vasquez exchanged a fleeting glance. "Her right arm has been severed." Alex got through, with new steel in her voice.

Vasquez and Winn both were typing with renewed fervour. Seconds later, Winn said, "National General is closest, but The Lovegood Clinic has the best trauma surgeon and team on staff." Winn said quickly.

It took Alex less than a second to decide, "Lovegood!"

Winn nodded to Vasquez, who took over, "Alright. I'm alerting their OR now, and paging Dr. Shirai now. Good luck Alex." Vasquez said as her hands flew over her keyboard, before suddenly stopping, having accomplished both of those things.

Alex hung up as the quarterback crew all looked at each other. "Who's gonna tell Kara?" Winn asked quietly.

J'onn considered for a moment before saying, "We'll tell her tomorrow. Depending on whether or not Maggie Sawyer makes it through the night." And with that, he walked over to the elevator and disappeared behind its closing doors.

The mysterious flying woman who probably should've been wearing a mask in the first place, Lena, woke up when her phone's constant vibrating coincided with a particularly visceral nightmare from her childhood. Her pounding hear steadied briefly as she took in her situation. A sleeping Kara was on top of her. Both of them were lying down on the couch, and Kara was curled into her, her arms linking at the base of Lena's spine. Lena's pulse began to speed up as she properly took into account that Kara's blissful and adorably drooling face was situated on Lena's barely covered left breast. Lena's sleeping wear wasn't the firmest of garments, and certainly showed little to no resistance when faced with the unconsciously burrowing face of Kara Danvers. Lena' own hands had err, wandered oh so gloriously a bit in her sleep. And it took a few seconds, but upon realising this, Lena's face assumed a shade of crimson that nobody alive had ever witnessed.

It took some time, longer than Lena would ever confess to, but the raven-haired woman's heartbeat eventually returned to only slightly elevated levels. She gingerly extricated her right hand from where Kara had a uh, firm hold on it, and found her phone which was lying on the coffee table adjacent to them. It was 3:00am and her news app's headline instantly garnered her attention, even in her half-awake state.

'ROGUE ALIEN CLASHES WITH NCPD PERSONEL. AT LEAST 6 DEAD. SUPERGIRL NOWWHERE TO BE SEEN.' It was then that Lena noticed a persistent flickering light coming from Kara's baggy pocket. Lena set her phone down and not without a new blush, fished it out of Kara's pocket. Lena's eyes widened as she read the latest few of many, many texts that had flooded the blonde's phone in the last couple hours. Lena began to shake Kara awake, but for all the good it did, she may as well have been tickling a rock. Softly, Lena leaned down and whispered in Kara's ear, "I'm so sorry my sweet Kara, something bad has happened and your sister needs you right now." Lena had barely finished before Kara jerked awake eyes bright with uncomprehending worry.

Lena had her delicate spindly fingers around each of Kara's shoulders, anchoring the girl. "Are you awake?" Lena asked calmly. Kara vigorously nodded, shaking off the last vestiges of sleep. "Ok." Taking a deep breath, Lena gently handed Kara her phone. "I only saw the top three… your sister's friend Maggie got hurt, bad. She needs you at Lovegood Clinic"

Kara nodded again as she made to untangle herself from Lena. "I'm sorry, she stammered as she hopped around getting her socks and shoes on."

Lena swiftly rose from the couch and disabused her of that notion. "No. There is nothing whatsoever to be sorry about. This is not your fault." Lena paused to take a breath. "Are you gonna fly there?" Kara nodded as she was now fumbling around for her keys.

Lena spotted them first and plucked them up and deposited them in Kara's shaking palm. "Kara, I.." Lena didn't truly know where she was going with that, but Kara made that decision for her.

"You're coming with me." Kara said firmly, in what Lena would come to recognize as her Supergirl persona bleeding through. "I want you with me, and Alex will not be in a good shape. I'll need someone to lean on too, and Alex is going to be totally focused on Maggie." The blonde sprinted to her room with powers untethered, and quickly wrapped Lena in beautiful navy blue duster. She also gave her a beanie and white particle mask. Lena was floored at Kara's instant understanding of Lena's hesitation, and warmed that Kara would be so accommodating of her social status. Kara herself was wearing a similar long coat and beanie, to account for the sudden chill they could both feel outside. Lena's surprise and moment of unadulterated warmth didn't last long as she quickly put on the disguise Kara gave her and they were both out the door not a second later.


	12. Lovegood Clinic

Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. I had a difficult term, an excuse I'm sure most of us fan fic readers are bored of by now. I get it, trust me. But here's a new chapter, so I hope you like it. Reviews/notes are appreciated.

* * *

Part XII: Lovegood Clinic

"How is she?" Alex asked for the seventeenth time, or something like that. Dr. Shirai had lost count at this point. It was beginning to become bothersome to the surgeon. The monitors attached to Maggie Sawyer's remaining arm beeped steadily in the background. Alex knew what those indicated, the danger was at bay for the moment.

"Agent Danvers, we won't know truly know until she wakes up. Her arm is self-explanatory, but her head trauma may be problematic, or it may be fine. We won't know for a little while." Dr. Shirai's response was as curt as it was predictable. Danvers' entire demeanor was already miles past dread. She turned on her feet to gaze out the window onto the parking lot below looking for something, anything to anchor her, and not finding it.

The young doctor used this pause in order to walk over to the window, and gently guide Agent Danvers into one of the few chairs surrounding Maggie's sleeping form.

Kara and Lena were both asleep in chairs towards the back of the rather impressive private suite that Lena paid for on a reflex. It was broken into two rooms, one for immediate guests that frankly looked like someone's drawing room, especially considering Lionel Luthor's contribution to the Lovegood Clinic's rebuild. And the second main room for the patient. Alex, Maggie, and Dr. Shirai were separated from Lena and Kara by a set of transparent sliding doors.

Alex looked at her sister and the Luthor with something unreadable in her eyes. They had fallen asleep on each other basically. With a small start, she realised Kara's glasses were missing. _She must've been in too much of a hurry to bother,_ Alex thought off-handedly. Her little sister and Lena were wearing matching beanies, doubtlessly bought during one of Kara's many Disney cravings. Lena's mask was off, Alex vaguely recalled her removing it once Maggie had been moved and they all had privacy.

Dr. Shirai was still looking out the window, though turned back to Agent Danvers once she had seen her fill of the car park. "Look, Alex," the agent in question looked up to meet her old friend's eyes, "I have every confidence Maggie will be alright." Alex made a half-choking noise as her eyes once more raked up and down Sawyer's body, cataloguing her crippling injury once more. "I'm not saying she'll make a full recovery," Dr. Shirai said carefully as she walked over and lightly placed a hand on Alex's shoulder. Dr. Shirai took a short breath before continuing, "Detective Sawyer has you, so, no matter how one-armed business plays out, I doubt she'll dwell on it half as much as you will." Alex would never admit it, but she flushed a little at the Doctor's well meaning and honest assessment.

"Thanks, Val," Alex managed as she got her breathing under control, and schooled her facial features.

Dr. Valerie Shirai walked to the door and then said, "Besides, from what I understand, with friends like yours," nodding to Lena Luthor slumped over on Kara, "I doubt she'll be armless for long. And in my personal experience, her head injury didn't present as much danger as we were fearing."

The tall doctor grinned slightly at the DEO agent's gobsmacked expression before walking out of the room.

In the hallway, Valerie caught the eye of a certain nurse and beckoned her along.

"Were we able to save any of the others?" Valerie asked bluntly.

Theresa, the nurse, mutely shook her head, though she elaborated, "We were close with one of them, but a clot formed and we weren't able to catch it quick enough and it tanked his heart." Valerie Shirai nodded as they reached the elevators. Theresa continued, "The families of the deceased have been notified. Detective Sawyer's aunt is due to arrive soon, her train will arrive in," she briefly consulted her wristwatch as they entered the elevator, "less than three hours. Ms…." she waited for the elevator to close, "Ms. Luthor arranged a driver to meet Detective Sawyer's aunt, Mrs. Martinez at the station." Dr. Shirai nodded just before the elevator dinged and they both stepped out into the cafeteria.

"That was, quite generous of her," Dr. Shirai muttered, almost distractedly as she perused the menu options. Theresa noticed Valerie's eyes shifting to the ceiling for some reason while deliberating

After a good three minutes of browsing the menu, Theresa figured out what Valerie's honourable intentions were. Theresa smiled and stepped up to the cashier and quickly ordered a couple hot chocolates, a large mocha, a Caesar salad, yoghurt, a couple chicken burritos sans beans, a steak pie, and two orders of the house burger. The cashier's eyes widened a little at the heavy order, but then reassessed the fact that Valerie Shirai was also in front of him and swallowed his protest in stride.

"That'll be–," he started.

"Here," Valerie said as she nonchalantly picked out a register side chocolate bar as well before handing over a navy card to the cashier. He nodded and swiped the card. Upon tucking the plastic rectangle back into her inner coat pocket, she turned to Theresa, "I know it's not normal, but I'd like you to arrange–,"

"A few people to carry this stuff up with utensils and free-standing trays?" Theresa supplied as the Doctor's personal mobile phone vibrated quite loudly.

Dr. Shirai's eyes widened for a discernable moment before saying, "Yes, that would be lovely." Valerie neatly tucked a tip into the cashier's breast pocket. "Make it happen, she knows the room number." Turning back to nurse Theresa she said, "You nailed the order by the way."

The kind yet smug smile forming on Theresa's face drew Valerie's instant response, "None of that 'Senpai' bullshit Theresa." The nurse pouted as Valerie Shirai elegantly turned on her heel and not–at–all–intentionally flared her coat out behind her as she made her way back towards Detective Sawyer's room.

Less than half an hour later, Lena felt herself awaken by a curious sensation, accompanied by a delightful smell. There was a smidge of drool on her face. Not her drool though. Her eyes flashed open, ready to combat the aberration on her cheek, but she almost immediately calmed down when she realised that she had jostled a sleeping Kara awake. She quickly wiped the blonde's drool away before Kara really came to, and suddenly it wasn't so disgusting after all. "What's that smell?" Kara asked through a sheet of dark blonde bangs.

Perhaps it was her little sister's super cute utterance, perhaps it was Dr. Valerie Shirai's incredibly kind gesture, but for the first time that day, Alex found herself with a tentative smile gracing her face.


	13. Confidence

Part XIII: Confidence

Not much later, Dr. Valerie Shirai was not in a good mood. A horror crash had sent three victims to the Lovegood Clinic. One was pronounced dead at the site, and the other died two minutes from the ambulance bay. The cops noticed the GPS of the smaller car was ironically geared toward the Lovegood Clinic anyway.

Valerie was scrubbing up when her new nurse came in swearing in Japanese. "It's going to be ok. It'll be okay. Calm down, you stupid, weak–,"

Valerie reached over to grasp the nurse's hand in a cold, wet, yet kind grasp. "You've never worked on a kid before, have you." It wasn't a question.

The new nurse glanced up in surprise, eyes wide as she shook her head. She glanced down at her hand, clasped in the still slightly soapy smaller hand of the legendary Doctor Shirai. "What's your name?" Valerie asked.

"Karisawa Mitsuha," she replied with formal clarity. Valerie peered up at the younger woman with an unreadable glance.

"Mitsuha, I'm not your friend, at least not for the next few hours. You will do everything I ask, when I ask. Abandon hope, it'll misguide you. Place your trust in the fact that I will not guide you astray. You will not tremble, and you will not doubt yourself because I know that you're capable of helping me save this little girl's life." Valerie punctuated each statement with a soft squeeze of her hand. Once Valerie finished, the girl no longer trembled. There was still fear in Mitsuha's eyes, but that was good. Valerie knew she could use the girl's fear, focus it and ensure it only sharpened Mitsuha's movements into the clinical efficiency that allowed her transfer to Valerie's surgical team.

Doctor Shirai and Mitsuha finished cleaning their hands and arms in silence. It was only when Doctor Shirai kicked open the door to the operating theatre that Mitsuha Karisawa realised their entire conversation had transpired without her realizing that they'd both been speaking exclusively Japanese.

"Alex, please sit down?"

The DEO agent was away from her fallen girlfriend for the first time since she rushed to her side the night before. Instead of being by Maggie's side, she was aggressively pacing up and down the hallway outside operating theatre four. Lena Luthor was sitting on the bench as Alex made another pass. "What am I going to tell her? 'Oh, hi Maggie, you have one arm now, cause my team and I weren't there to back you up. Your only friends in your department were killed at the scene. Oh, and now, the aunt who took you in as a teenager is dead, and the closest person you have to a sister is currently in surgery and may not make it either'. Is that what I say Lena?"

Alex's outburst was short, but it was still riddled with tears as each statement fell from her lips. In a rare breach of proper decorum, Lena swiftly stood up and gathered her girlfriend's sister in her arms. Alex resisted for a moment, but the Luthor girl wasn't in the mood for her limited affection to be denied.

"Do you want me to wake Kara?" Lena asked gently. Alex considered for a moment before gently shaking her head, which was positioned over Lena's left shoulder.

"She'll just be sad she can't help. As a general rule, I don't want her sad when I can avoid it. Let her sleep." Alex responded after a moment of consideration.

Lena released Alex from her embrace and sat down on the bench. She gently patted the spot adjacent her. Lena glanced toward where Kara was still sound asleep and snoring softly… some two floors above them and on the other side of the hospital. It wasn't even a sentimental glance, she could literally see through everything in her path and single out Kara with not just her eyes, but all other senses as well. It gave Lena some comfort, knowing there was still some good in the world.

Alex's hands were clenched at her side, her eyes boring into the ground some four feet ahead at the other side of the hallway. Lena looked back at Alex.

"Kara's Supergirl isn't she?" Lena asked calmly.


	14. The Easy Part

Part XIV: The Easy Part

Alex's reaction was as predictable as it was amusing. Lena chuckled a little as she nodded. But then she said, "If you're worried about me knowing that because of my family… look into my eyes." Alex's expression went from fight-worthy to confused. But she indulged the Luthor's request. "I would rip into my own chest, and burst my heart between my fingers before allowing Kara to come to real harm when I could've prevented it. I know that sounds cliché, but I'm going to reveal something to you. Something that makes you part of a very exclusive club: the club of people who know what I am. And it's probably much smaller than the group of super friends and company who know Kara is the Woman of Steel."

For all of Alex's ability to take the curveballs that life tended to throw at her, this conversation was rapidly exceeding all expectations of oddness. But that didn't mean Alex was taking it lightly. She recognized Lena's expression as the same one that she herself wore when telling Kara about her sexuality, all those months ago.

"Lena, what are you talking about? And should Kara know first?" Alex asked with her undivided attention on Lena's very wide eyes. As if she couldn't believe the conversation was going either. Yeah, Lena was about to make a coming out speech of some sort, and Alex knew there was nothing she could say to stop her at this point.

"I told her some of it. The _easy part_ ," Lena said carefully. "And then I hinted at the _not easy part_ , and…she burst into tears." Lena stopped at Alex's frown. "I don't know why."

Seeing no deception in Lena's words, Alex thought for a few moments before venturing, "Why don't you tell me what you told her, and maybe I can offer some insight."

Lena nodded. She looked down and said, "It's easier if I show you." In a movement faster than Alex's eye could track, Lena swiped the side-arm hanging on Alex's belt: an alien gun, capable of even knocking Kara or Superman out of the air in one shot. No permanent harm, but certainly not nothing.

Alex started, but Lena fixed her with an eye-rolling smirk, "Come now Alex, do you think your sister would let me leave the building alive if I lay a finger on you?"

Alex replied with more than a little trepidation, "I don't know. I don't think she'd do that, to you, no matter what." Lena's smirk disappeared.

"What do you mean?" Lena asked with genuine confusion, the gun limp in her hand, forgotten, the momentary tension between them gone.

Alex looked at her in a way Lena hadn't seen in a long time. A look that perfectly communicated: _you're just not very smart are you?_

Lena's confusion grew at the look Alex was giving her. _She knows something I don't._

"You were gonna show me something?" Alex asked, with a slightly amused expression at Lena's cluelessness about how deep Kara's feelings went for her.

Lena sobered up, and did a three-sixty, confirming there were no cameras or people nearby enough to witness. She took a deep breath, and then very quickly turned the gun into the skin just under her collarbone and pulled the trigger at maximum setting.

A blue flash illuminated the corridor, Alex let out a gasp of surprise and concern. The weapon's report was muted, since the barrel was pressed into Lena's skin, and therefore not many sound waves escaped her flawless skin.

Alex's eyes grew very wide. _Hold the fuck up, she's got flawless skin after a not at all nerfed shot from this thing? Even Kara can't tank a direct hit like that._ With the barrel still smoking from the plasma emission, Lena lazily handed the little plasma cannon back to Alex Danvers.

Sensing a movement beyond the doors, Lena focused her vision through the surgery doors, something she resisted doing until now, and saw Dr. Shirai and a taller Asian woman a couple steps behind her. Both wore the same expression Lena associated with a far too long but productive day of work. Lena's attention was drawn back to Alex as she opened her mouth a couple times before managing, "How was that the 'easy part'?"


	15. The Not Easy Part

Part XV: The Not Easy Part

Lena gave Alex a sobering look before saying, "Because I grew up as a lab experiment in a cage in Argo City, Krypton. At the courtesy of the system-wide authority, the Kryptonian Science Guild." Lena deadpanned. No humour. The tender expression she'd been nursing subconsciously had evaporated.

Alex realised she was looking into the eyes of a survivor of horrors that very few, certainly not her or Kara could truly and completely understand. But then the second part of what Lena said hit its mark.

Argo City.

Science Guild.

These were things that Kara had mentioned with the utmost pride when she'd talk about Krypton. And suddenly Alex understood exactly why Kara would be inconsolable… Kara's father Zor El did this to Lena.

Kara's father stole the light right out of Lena's eyes.

Alex placing her hand on Lena's with the utmost tenderness broke Lena's momentary descent into the past. "I know why Kara started crying. And before I tell you, I want your promise." Lena took a few deep breaths.

"What is the promise you want from me?" Lena asked quietly. Dr. Shirai was almost at the door, she slung an arm around the nurse at her side. The nurse looked a little overwhelmed.

"I want… I need you to believe in her pureness of character. Like she did in you, when everyone else in her life thought you were CADMUS and a monster. I'm ashamed to say I was probably your biggest detractor other than Olsen." Alex took a breath, shaking her head at her own bigotry. But she wasn't losing steam yet, "I want you to stand by Kara because she's fucking in love with you, ok? And what I'm about to say shouldn't change that, but I'm so terrified that it might." Alex spoke in a deadly serious tone, but she couldn't stop her voice from wavering when she said 'loves'.

Lena was a little taken aback, but replied, "Honestly, I'd follow your sister down whatever path she asked of me. There is no road she'd go down that I wouldn't be follow right behind her, or be at her side. No moral trespass too great. Kara is my beloved." Alex's breath hitched at that declaration. But she saw nothing less than absolute devotion, even if it was a little unsettling how ready Lena was to walk the talk.

"Is the name Zor El familiar to you?" Alex asked cautiously.

Lena paled a little, but nodded. Alex looked to where she knew Kara would be sleeping. Steeling herself Alex continued with, "Kara's name is Kara Zor El. While he lived, Zor El was Kara's father."

Lena's breath hitched. She rapidly stood up and followed Alex's early example by pacing rapidly. There were many thoughts that went through her head, and Alex was becoming increasingly anxious.

Lena stopped pacing suddenly, her shoe squeaking with more force than it was built to take.

A memory surfaced of a gentle voice. Lena didn't even know what 'gentle' meant.

A kind, companionate voice that sounded like hers, a child's voice.

A little girl.

A voice that belonged to a girl she couldn't see from her cage.

All those years ago, before Earth.

Lena remembered how much that voice meant to her, sustained her through years of almost every violation imaginable, and so, so much agony. And how sad she had been when the certainty of Krypton's death silencing that voice sunk in. She'd never hear it again.

When she mourned that girl who had spent exactly sixty-six minutes speaking to her.

It was far and away best hour and six minutes of her life.

It was _Kara the whole time._

 _She must have wandered into her father's laboratory; too short to see the horrors he kept there._

 _Kara was saving me, even then._

Lena's face broke into a smile unlike anything Alex had seen from anyone other than her sister. Alex rose to her feet as well, baffled. Lena started giggling in a way that Alex didn't think was possible. It was raw, and emotional, and patently un-Luthor like.

Alex had a feeling she knew where this was going for Lena. "Lena?"

A minute later, Doctor Valerie Shirai and Nurse Mitsuha Karisawa opened the doors to deliver the result of the surgery and found Len Luthor sitting in the middle of the corridor sobbing through her oddly radiant smile, with Alex Danvers patting her back in sympathetic, if confused reassurance.


	16. Dread Not

Part XVI: Dread Not.

When she woke up, first thing she noticed was the smell that saturated the room, chocolate. Mom was baking again. Absolutely fantastic. Isa threw off her blue covers and didn't even put on slippers before dashing into the kitchen, but no one was there. Isa wasn't too concerned, though her rational mind was definitely deterred by the wafting chocolaty goodness. Isa skipped over to the oven and squatted down to look through the small glass window onto the gorgeous soufflé within. Isa checked the timer, and even the gathering storm outside couldn't tame her wicked grin. Dashing to her room again, she darted around grabbing panties, bra, t-shirt, jeans, and her box of tampons and made her way to the bathroom. She turns on the shower, after about twenty seconds she steps in. Less than a minute she jumps out, runs to her room, and snatches the towel she left on her bed and ran back to the shower, trying not to douse her room with the water sloughing off of her body.

After a quick shower, she dried off, applied her tampon and finished getting dressed. Not exactly a fun addition to her morning routine, but it was what it was. It had been ten minutes. "Isa!" Mom was home from the grocery. Isa looked one last time in the mirror, done with her minimal make-up, which she thought looked smashing, the top of her shirt speckled with water from her hair. She strode out of the bathroom, and was going to spend a little time polishing her story for her presentation today in class, but her path was blocked by her mother.

"Mom? Is everything,–"

"Maggie got hurt on the job," Kim Martinez said without preamble. "We're flying to National City, pack a bag for a few nights as quickly as you can."

Isa didn't move. Maggie got hurt? "How bad?" she manages, her voice a shadow of what it should be.

Kim was already rifling through her dresser throwing stuff into her late husband's REI climbing backpack. "Bad enough that she's out of it, and that I have to be there to make medical decisions for her, I don't know much else. Hurry up! Our plane flies in an hour."

Isa snapped out of her freeze and haphazardly packed. On her way out the door, she grabbed her favourite leather jacket, one that Maggie had gave her to grow into when she left the Midwest. When she was heading to the door, she suddently returned to her room and grabbed the copy of _Dreadnought: Nemesis-Book One_ she had intended to give to Maggie and stuffed it into her backpack. She also grabbed _Sovereign: Nemesis-Book Two_ for her own reading.

The plane ride was uneventful, but that didn't stop Kim from clutching the armrests until her nails hurt. The hollow of fear Isa was feeling wasn't helped by the angst fest that was _Soverighn._ So in an uncharacteristic move she looked to the last pages. Isa just needed to know something was going to be alright. Reading the last paragraph, she didn't realize she teared up until one fell onto the page. The ending was everything Isa wanted in her life. She folded the top corner down of the page she was on midway through, and put down _Sovereign._

Having brought nothing other than a couple bags apiece, they didn't have to bother with baggage claim, but to their surprise, there was a tall dapper ginger with a sign that said, **Kimberly Martinez, Aunt of Maggie Sawyer**.

Kim and Isa walked over to him a little cautiously. Looking at their confused expressions, the man said, "Hello. I'm here to take you to the Lovegood Clinic. My name is Francis." He added his name as an after thought.

Kim still looked apprehensive. "I don't understand."

Francis replied, "Lena Luthor arranged for a car to ferry you to the Clinic. I was told that Ms. Sawyer helped out my boss not too long ago. Ms. Luthor takes care of those who help her, so here we are. Follow me if you please." And without further ado, he turned on his heel and walked outside to where a Tesla was waiting in the loading area.

Isa and Kim shared a quick look before accepting the kindness of a stranger and following Francis outside where he was waiting with the door open.

* * *

Author's Note: I know I plugged April Daniels' _Dreadnought_ and _Sovereign_ pretty shamelessly in this chapter. Go read them. If by some miracle you like my story, these are the books for you, even if they are a little slow burn. I think it's interesting that reading/writing fanfiction is what put me on the lookout for books like this in the first place.

For the record, Isa turning to look at the final page to know something, anything in her life could be alright in a moment of crisis, is precisely what I did. Please support these books. They mean more to me than I could possibly articulate.


	17. She's Awake

Part XVII: She's Awake

After Lena had calmed down, which she did in less than twenty seconds, she and Alex turned to address the surgeon: Dr. Valerie Shirai.

"Will she live?" Alex managed.

Valerie nodded, "Yes. Young Miss Isabella Sawyer will make a full recovery. But like her cousin, it will take some time. They have similar injuries."

Alex paled at that. Lena, having now completely gotten rid of the tears from Alex's revelation about Kara, asked, "Can you be less cryptic?" in a biting tone.

The Japanese nurse who stood a little off to the side, who towered over the other three woman said, "Look here, sugar queen–,"

But she was cut off by her boss, Valerie. "It's alright, Mitsuha. I was being cryptic. But seeing as neither of you are her guar–," Valerie Shirai's pager beeped, then her cell phone. She looked up at the two worried women in front of her and back at Mitsuha before saying, "Well that's convenient, Nurse Theresa informs me that Sawyer the elder is awake."

Alex wasted negative time getting back to Maggie's side. Or at least she would've if Shirai didn't grab her arm before she could sprint off through the building back to her beloved.

"Alex, no running. We'll walk together. I was heading there anyway." Alex looked a little put out, but more annoyed and angry at Dr. Shirai's interference. Lena, however shot Valerie a thankful glance and a mouthed, "Thank you." Alex and Lena's phones vibrated simultaneously, and they both checked the message from Kara: GUYS! MAGGIE'S AWAKE!

The first thing she noticed when she woke was a vaguely yellow shape, bouncing up and down. As the bleariness of medicated sleep left her, she realized the vaguely yellow shape was in fact a sharper blonde shape named Kara. "Maggie! You're awake!" Maggie didn't respond immediately as she took in her surroundings. Kara whipped out a phone and sent off a quick message. No sooner had that happened, a short nurse called Theresa walked in.

She budged Kara over, a monumental feat, and looked at Maggie. "Miss, I need to check a few things. Can you tell me your full name?"

Maggie's eyes darted to the stranger in front of her, and then to Kara, who nodded slightly. "Margaret Sawyer, Detective," she managed to croak out. The IV diet had not been kind to her dry throat.

Theresa looked pleased, "Can you tell me who the President is?"

Maggie didn't even need to think. "Donald Trump."

The identical and multi-layered expression of horror on Theresa and Kara's face was priceless. She'd tell Alex all about it. "I'm just kidding, jeez. Our Pres. is a beautifully scary lady named Olivia Marsden, thank god." Maggie snarked. Kara let out a breath of relief, but also an intense pout.

"Don't scare me like that Maggie!" Kara mumbled.

"I'm alright, little Danvers. Don't you worry." Maggie's eyes drifted to where her right arm should've been. Her eyes shut for a short moment before she said, "I'm just a regular Misty Knight."

Theresa pulled a flashlight from her pocket and checked that Maggie's eye dilation was on point, it was. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask. What's the last thing you remember?"

Maggie's eyes didn't move from her malformed shoulder stump. "My team dead, an evil alien, and a bang."

Theresa didn't comment on how Detective Sawyer's tone dropped. "Well, Doctor Valerie Shirai should be here when she's out of surgery. Thanks for your patience." As Theresa left the room, she gave Kara a significant look.

Maggie missed that look, still absorbed with coming to terms with how fucked she was. "Kara?" Maggie asked in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

"Yes?" Kara replied in an equally soft, though more stable voice.

"Where's Alex?" Maggie breathed out.


	18. Casualty Notification

Part XVIII: Casualty Notification

Kara's eyes swelled with tears. She realized now, there wasn't a way out of it. She'd have to tell Maggie of the other horror that happened in the night. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath. She wasn't there to contain that Alien because she'd been with Lena. And now Maggie had one arm and now only one family member she loved. At the very least, Kara could spare Alex this dark conversation. In the back of her mind, she realized that of their whole friend group, only she could relate to Maggie's world falling apart like this.

"Alex is several floors below us. She's outside the surgery room. She's outside the surgery room because there was something else that happened last night when you were out of it." Kara's voice was unlike anything Maggie had heard from her before. It was a recognizable tone though. Where had she heard it bef– _Oh. OH GOD._ Maggie realised _exactly_ where she recognized that kind of tone from.

Kara was using the exact voice that Maggie herself had used several times: casualty notification.

"Kara, who?" Maggie managed to get out. The rising fear had reached her eyes, already watering.

Kara gently clasped Maggie's hand in both of hers. "When you were out, the Clinic had to notify your Next of Kin. Your next of kin is Kimberly Martinez. So she and Isabella," At the mention of Isabella's name, Maggie whimpered. Kara squeezed lightly, magically reassuringly, before continuing. "She and Isabella took a plane to fly here. Lena had one of her drivers pick them up at the airport to get them here. On the way here, they were hit by another car that had wandered into their lane. There wasn't any time to get out of the way, they collided head on."

Maggie had grown very still. There were tears making their way down towards her hidden dimples, but her expression of quiet horror wasn't enough to stop Kara from telling her everything. From experience, Kara knew there was no going around the problem. And trying to soften such a blow wasn't even possible, but it was insulting. And Kara knew Maggie deserved better than that.

"The driver of the other car flew through her windshield and died instantly. Lena's driver died too." Kara took a deep breath. Maggie didn't breath at all, still transfixed on Kara's eyes with a sort of desperate pleading look. "Your Aunt, Kimberly Martinez is dead."

Maggie's reaction was exactly what Kara expected, complete stillness. But she pressed on. "Isabella was taken here, and Dr. Valerie Shirai, who saved your life after your encounter with the alien last night, is operating on her. I don't know how bad her injuries were. And I can't tell you everything will be ok, cause it's not. But I'll be here with you, Alex will be here with you. But right now, she's outside Isabella's surgery room, waiting for Dr. Shirai to emerge with the results. That's why she's not here now." Kara finished talking, but she was still making sure not to drop eye contact with her new friend.

Maggie didn't move for a long few moments. "Hey Kara, can you help get me on my feet? I'd like to wait downstairs with Alex." Kara face looked like it was about to say something sensible like, 'you need to absorb the fact you're aunt is dead,' or, 'you can't go running around the hospital.'

But what she actually said was, "Of course you can." But when she turned to check if the coast was clear, Alex, Dr. Shirai, a nurse she'd never met before, and Lena Luthor all walked into the suite.


	19. Delivering the News

Part XIX: Delivering the News

"Margaret Sawyer," Dr. Shirai said calmly.

"Kara told me everything," Maggie said before Shirai could continue. She nodded, as if to herself, and asked with unnatural calm, "Isa? Is Isabella alright?"

Dr. Shirai paused for a moment, and then said, "She's alive. She'll wake up later today." Maggie let out a breath, but not a full breath, because she, like the other women in the room, realised Dr. Shirai was intentionally vague. Valerie, who was not a fool, picked up on everyone's looks rather quickly. "She sustained minimal head trauma, less than you actually. But Isabella suffered catastrophic damage to her lower femurs. Her legs were crushed on impact. Both of them. It was a miracle she made it the operating table having not bled to death or suffered from Crush Syndrome. And that is entirely thanks to the paramedics who were on the scene within minutes. But I could not save her legs. I had to amputate both her legs, just above the knee."

Maggie made an ugly sound. It wasn't a keening, or a moan, but it felt worse. Everyone in the room flinched except Valerie. In less than a heartbeat, Kara and Alex briefly made eye contact, and swiftly switched positions. Alex hopped up onto Maggie's bed, tenderly budging Maggie over so she'd have room. Then Alex gathered an inconsolable Maggie in her arms and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. They stayed like that for a while.

When Alex made her move to the bed, Kara leaned into Doctor Shirai and said, "Thank you Doctor. Could you tell us which room we could find Maggie's cousin please?"

Valerie hesitated and then said, "I could have her brought up here. There's certainly enough space." Kara briefly glanced at her sister and Maggie before replying with a decisive nod.

Lena was peering over at the Japanese nurse. _Mitsuha was her name?_ She had a slight tremor in her right hand. _Odd for a Surgeon's assistant_ , Lena thought. But then she noticed the tight expression on the frightfully tall woman's face as she gazed on the grieving detective. Lena tapped Valerie on the arm and said, "The four of us should give these two some privacy." Kara shot her a brief proud smile before casting a final glance at Alex and Maggie and stepping out into the hallway.

Doctor Shirai and Mitsuha followed Kara out the door. Lena stayed for a moment more. Alex noticed, and sent a questioning glance her way. Lena gave Alex a deliberately intense look and mouthed, "Thank you Alex," before she too walked out of the room and shut the door.

Alex nodded and returned a wan smile and a slight nod of acceptance as she settled her head against Maggie's trembling one once more.

Dr. Shirai and the nurse, Mitsuha, had gone off to put out more fires, so to speak. Still standing outside the suite, Lena lightly tugged on Kara's sleeve to get her attention. It struck Kara as an oddly childish thing to do. But when she looked down into Lena's eyes, she saw _vulnerability_. "Hey, Kara. If it's ok with you, I'd like to tell you about my childhood. And before you say anything, I know your full name." Kara flinched. But Lena wasn't about to let her squirm like that. "I know your full name, and I want you to know that I'm uh," Lena let out a shaky breath. "I'm kinda fucking in love with you okay." She said in a very un-regal manner. Kara opened her mouth to say something, but that mouth was quickly claimed by Lena's.

Neither God nor Rao could agree on how long those two stood there in that intimate and sensual embrace, but after some time, they parted with heated breath.

Lena didn't fully let go of Kara, but she managed to put back on her beanie and sunglasses. She glanced around, taking full advantage of her powers, scouting a nice quiet place, and said, "Let's go to the roof. I'd like to tell you about my childhood."

* * *

Reviews are much appreciated!


	20. A Peaceful Moment

Part XIX: A Peaceful Moment

Lena and Kara had gone off to talk a long while ago. Alex had fallen asleep at Maggie's side, the long night finally claiming her waking hours. Maggie was awake. She'd been awake for hours. Her eyes didn't leave the sleeping form of her cousin who was just a few feet to the right of her bed. She reached her right hand out to–no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! Maggie struggled to get her breathing under control.

Oh, right. Her arm was missing. Her shoulder was a stump. _Why can I still feel it?_ All she wanted to do was reach out and stroke Isabella's hair. Maggie couldn't help a small chuckle burst forth as she took a moment to appreciate that even in this hideous situation, that Isabella's _goddamn_ hair was fucking perfect as always. _That cheeky little bitch,_ Maggie thought affectionately. Alex was sleeping, but this once, Maggie was willing to sacrifice her comfort. "Hey, Baby, wake up for a minute?" Maggie whispered into the side of Alex's head. The dark red haired woman just snuggeled a little deeper into the detective's side. Maggie's remaining arm was beginning to feel strange. _Fuck._ "Alex, you're on my arm. I'd like to keep this one, ok?" Maggie spoke directly into the agent's ear this time.

Alex's eyes flared open, her breath hitched, and she woke up. "Hey, Maggie. Is it morning yet?" She asked as decided her surroundings were distinctly non-hostile.

"Depends on your definition," Maggie replied wryly, or as close to wry as she could be right now. "Hey, um, I'm sorry to wake you up, but I need a couple things."

Alex was off the bed and at attentions immediately, "Anything," she said unhesitatingly. Then she blushed just a little at her eagerness.

Maggie let out a tired smile, "Well, you've already solved problem one," she said as she moved her left hand around, restoring circulation. "I'd like you to move us around so I can…so I can hold her when she wakes up." Maggie finished, admirably.

Alex nodded, though she looked at the beds and decided to get the nurses involved. Maggie raised her eyebrow when Alex tapped the button to summon the nurse. "Hey, I used to be one of them, sorta, and one of the things that really pissed me off was when somebody did exactly what we're gonna do. And not tell them." Maggie seemed satisfied with her answer, and settled back down into the pillow. Alex didn't mention that she also suspected that if there was an emergency, the extra second or two the nurses needed to orient themselves to the new setup could be costly. But Alex had faith that the trouble had passed by. At least for the moment.

The nurse that came into the room was the tall Japanese one from before. "Hey, what are you doing on watch-duty if you're an assistant to Dr. Shirai?" Alex asked when she entered the suite.

Mitsuha tilted her head as if considering her response before Maggie spoke up, "It's alright Alex, just let her do her job."

Mitsuha looked at Maggie, then back to Alex and said, "Dr. Shirai asked me to. I'm off rotation in the Operation Room until tomorrow's evening shift. Is everything alright?"

Alex surveyed Mitsuha with a questioning look, but accepted her answer all the same. "Maggie would like to hold her niece. Can we move the beds to make that happen?"

Mitsuha looked at the two beds for a moment with an air of confusion. "Yes. Of course. I'm not sure why the people who set this up didn't do that from the start."

She and Alex then played a mini game of Tetris with the beds, so that Maggie's arm could reach Isabella. "Thank you." The one-armed woman said softly. "What's your name?"

Mitsuha was a little off-guard by the familiarity, but straightened when she said, "It's Mitsuha Karisawa."

Mitsuha quietly slipped out of the room after a quick nod of thanks from Alex. As she left, she Maggie reached out with her hand to brush Isabella's hair away from her face and say, "I'm so sorry Isa. This is all my fault" As tears began to fall down the Detective's cheeks, and Alex Danvers put her hand on Maggie's opposite shoulder, the young nurse decided to go find Dr. Shirai, or perhaps Lena and the blonde girl; Detective Sawyer was going to need all the help she could get.

"König-san, did Dr. Shirai leave a memo for her team?" Mitsuha gently asked the nurse by the computer.

The raven-haired grad student from Germany raised her head and quickly checked the screen, then the scattering of post-it notes on her desk. "No, sorry. No official memo. But she went upstairs about ten minutes ago. I've already told you to call me Azar, since you insisted I call you Mitsuha… Also, we've been on two dates, you don't need to be…prude," Azar smirked at the new colour in Mitsuha's cheeks. The German decided to have some mercy on her new girlfriend. But her smirk stayed firmly in place. "Dr. Shirai mentioned something about a smoking break," she finished in heavily accented, though perfectly clear English. Hell, as a woman who grew up in Tokyo, Mitsuha had far more trouble with regional American accents than compared to Azar König's. It was something they bonded over, since Azar's own grasp of uncommon American accents was lacking as well. Though Mitsuha would admit to being slightly distracted by her girlfriend, the last part of what she said raised a red flag. Dr. Valerie Shirai did not smoke. Not even cannabis. Except that one time after drinks…Theresa would never let her forget it.

But before Mitsuha could question Azar further about Dr. Shirai, there was a shout from down the hallway. "MAGGIE?" Then, "WHERE IS MY MOM?" Mitsuha and Azar traded an identical look before Mitsuha bolted back to the Sawyers' room, as Azar paged both the senior nurse Theresa and Dr. Shirai.


	21. Rooftop Q&A (Part I)

Author's Note: I fuck about with comic/film/tv show mythos here with Lena's identity. Deal with it. And thanks for reading!

* * *

Part XX: Rooftop Q&A (Part I)

 _Neither God nor Rao could agree on how long those two stood there in that intimate and sensual embrace, but after some time, they parted with heated breath._

 _Lena didn't fully let go of Kara, but she managed to put back on her beanie and sunglasses. She glanced around, taking full advantage of her powers, scouting a nice quiet place, and said, "Let's go to the roof. I'd like to tell you about my childhood."_

The climb to the roof was short. It wasn't long enough for Kara. Her hands were shaking. She was admirably trying, though failing to prepare herself for this inevitable conversation. The one where Lena lays bare what kind of monster Zor El really was during his lifetime. The kind of monster that justifies science to prey on children.

Lena opened the door to the roof, after a moment of difficulty with the lock, and held it open for Kara. Kara glanced downward, confirming with her X-ray vision that everything was all right, and it was. To her pleasant surprise, there were a few seats and a small portable table up here. No doubt for the staff to come up here and smoke, or just escape the pressure of a hellish day by just looking up at the sky and knowing that the world was still happening; even if they couldn't see it.

Lena shifted self-consciously before she took her seat. "I changed my mind about just _telling_ you everything," she started, and at Kara's concerned face, she amended, "that came out wrong. I think that this will go more quickly, and more efficiently if you ask me questions, and I can elaborate from there. I'm…too much of a coward to just be out with it." Kara put a hand on Lena's arm.

"Lena," Kara breathed. "You don't ever have to tell me, if you're not comfortable with it," Kara said tenderly.

Lena adjusted her left arm so Kara didn't have her hand on it anymore. But before Kara could retract her hand, Lena firmly grasped it in hers. "I don't think I could be uncomfortable with you. At least, not anymore." The trails of dawn's light threw their mutual blush into sharp relief. "I want you to know. But it's not going to be easy, for either of us. Ask away, Supergirl."

Kara took a breath before beginning, "Are you from Krypton?"

Lena nodded her head, "Yes, I was born on Krypton. My family was in the Military Guild."

Kara nodded. Her breath shook a little bit. Just the confirmation that there was someone else who remembered home. Even if their experiences where horrifyingly different. "What, um…what is/was your name back home?" Kara asked.

Lena's brow furrowed a little. "My Earth name is Lena, and as I said before, that's what I prefer. My family…" she chuckled without much humour, "my family was disliked on Krypton. My parents were not married. I, like Kal, yes I know his name, was born naturally. But since my father's family was already frowned upon, the scandal wasn't exactly press stopping." Lena met Kara's gently searching eyes. "My mother's family was basically in the peasant class, because we had Daxamite blood in our veins. Not much of it, but several generations back, we were freed slaves of the Daxamite empire. My ancestors had been bred by them see, raped…men and women alike, until _they_ or their female _rapists_ bore children who were both Kryptonian and Daxamite. After the war though, Krypton claimed them all, and Daxam didn't argue. But I digress," Lena noticed the tenses of Kara's whole body as she mentioned the sexual violence visited on her people. "Hey, Kara. Look at me. I've never been raped. Okay, while all of that stuff is fucking horrible, you don't need to put that pity on me, because I don't know their experiences, anymore than my ancestors know mine."

Kara nodded. But she was still aware that Lena had dodged the question. "So your mother's family was of mixed blood. Did you live with them or your father's family?"

Lena's jaw twitched. "I lived with my mother and sister until I was taken away. I'm not really sure why or if it was just me, I was a kid at the time. I just know that men wearing armour came into our house one night, injected me with something, and I woke up in the lab. For all I know they could've done the same to my little sister." Lena's eyes began to mist over a little.

Kara took a moment to still her emotions before this next question, "It was my father, wasn't it? Who took you away from your family." Kara couldn't stop the inevitable beads of salty tears forming along her eyelids. The horror of it all was just too much to not have a physical reaction to.

Lena nodded again. "It was Lord Zor El of the Science Guild that exclusively conducted the experiments on me. So yes, I'm sure it was him who ordered my abduction."

Kara's next breath came out in a stutter. But before she could apologize Lena reached up and used the heel of her hands to brush away Kara's tears. "Don't you dare. Don't you fucking dare apologize for your father. You were a kid yourself at the time, and had absolutely nothing to do with it. Hell, I'm pretty sure you wandered into your father's lab once and talked to me for a little while. You were a kid, a few years younger than me. It's one of my brightest memories from home." Lena had finished clearing away Kara's tears, only for more to spawn with Lena's latest admission.

"I think I remember that," Kara whispered. "It's all blurry, but I remember meeting someone in dad's lab. It's less of a picturesque set of memories rather than a strange and positive feeling," Kara said, trying so very hard to make that memory clearer.

"It's alright Kara, you don't need to strain yourself. I'll remember for the both of us."

"You didn't answer about your name," Kara sniffled. Lena's eyebrows shot up. It was a legitimate oversight. She just got caught up with everything else, and completely blew off Kara's question.

"Well, I suppose I'm an accidental master at deflection." Lena muttered. Kara's lip quirked into a half-smile.

Lena let out a large breath. "Very well. On Krypton, my name was Faora-Ul."


	22. Rooftop Q&A (Part II)

Part XXI: Rooftop Q&A (Part II)

Their moment was interrupted by a scream down below. "MAGGIE?"

Isa had woken up. Kara moved to stand, but Lena's gentle hand stopped her.

"What do we have to offer her?" Lena asked quietly.

Kara frowned, "What do you mean?"

"It's just that, she doesn't know who we are, what good will that do her?" Lena replied calmly. "And we don't know her. How would you react to waking up after a catastrophic incident with one person you know. And that person isn't exactly what you were expecting, and you're surrounded by strangers?"

Kara gave Lena/Faora a long look. There was no mirth or deceit in her eyes. She just didn't know how flawlessly she just described Kara's awakening from her suspended animation after crashing on Earth. Kal wasn't who she expected him to be, and the Danvers family were strangers in a foreign land.

Kara craned her neck to see the commotion several floors below. It was tense, but Maggie, Alex, and the team of nurses attending had it under control. Lena was right.

"So, Faora? Are you ok with me calling you that once in a while?" Kara enunciated carefully, slipping back into her native Kryptonian accent. She'd excised it after too many kids called it weird at school. "It's so beautiful, Faora," Kara breathed almost reverentially.

Lena gave a sad smile, "Only when you say it." She looked up at Kara's dark eyes. Lena had superior vision to even most Kryptonians, and in that moment, she wasn't sure what colour Kara's eyes were, darkened sapphire, or deep emerald.

The trails of light licking at the skyscrapers a few miles away solidified into the blaze of sunrise. The sun crested above the mountains, bathing Kara and Lena in spectacular, damn near angelic glory. The city was bathed in light as well. It was an oddly smog-free morning, and the visibility really showed off the majesty of the L Corp. and Catco. skyscrapers only a few miles away.

Lena and Kara completely missed all of it. All the sun. All the reflections. And the clear skies. Their eyes were closed, locked in peaceful and insistent kiss.

After several long minutes, Lena broke apart the kiss. "Hey Kara?"

"Yes?"

"You can call me Faora, but only when it's just us."

Kara nodded seriously, "Of course."

"Um, Kara?" Lena started, with more than a little trepidation. "I'm not good at doing things part-way…would you be my girlfriend, Kara Zor El?" Lena's blush was now visible in the morning sun.

Kara leaned forward with something that was part giggle, part exclamation, and part smashing her lips against Lena's again. When they parted again, Faora reached up to wipe her lipstick off of Kara's upper and lower lips. "I would love to be your girlfriend, Faora-Ul," Kara Zor El declared once her girlfriend was done erasing the evidence of their intimacy.

Faora looked downwards, "I think it would be best if we go down now. I think Alex is pulling out her phone to call you."

Kara looked downwards as well, realising again not for the first time that super-vision was indispensible. "Alright," Kara replied as they both rose to their feet.

They re-entered the stairwell holding hands.


	23. Isabella Adelaide Lupita Martinez

Part XXII: Isabella Adelaide Lupita Martinez

Isa awoke as if thrown from a dream. She pitched forward on her bed, rattling the intravenous drip lines against her bed's borders. She tried to remember what happened, where she was. The first concrete thing she noticed was a squeezing of her upper arm. Her elder cousin, the one whom she viewed as the badass role-model older sister she never had. The second thing she noticed was Maggie only had one arm. "MAGGIE?" _Where am I, holy fuck what happened to Maggie. Why do my legs hurt so…._

She stopped all movement, just staring at the stumps that were once her legs. "WHERE IS MY MOM?"

Isa looked at her Maggie, who had tears just all over. "Isa…" her next words were lost when Mitsuha Karisawa came back into the room.

Mitsuha looked between the two of them before making an executive decision. Sentiment could wait, she needed to make sure this girl was alright first. "I'm sorry, but I need to check you right now. It will be fast." For the next few minutes Isa went along with Mitsuha's little tests. "How does your body feel? Ignore your legs right now. Are you nauseous?"

"No."

"What is your name?"

"Isa"

"Full name, I'm sorry, but I need to ask you these things." Mitsuha really was sorry. She could already feel Maggie's death glare shaving years off of her life.

"Isabella Adelaide Lupita Martinez."

"How old are you?"

"15."

"Who is the leader of this country?"

"President Marsden"

"Look into the light," Mitsuha did the same pupil dilation examination Maggie went through earlier.

"I'm going to fetch my boss, Dr. Shirai. But I think you'll be alright." Mitsuha took this moment to practically flee the room. Working with crippled children was not something she was used to, nor was it something she wanted to become acclimated to. Azar gave her pale-looking girlfriend a sad smile as she flew past to bring Dr. Shirai.

Isa sat back on her bed. She looked at what remained of her legs, all neatly bandaged and swaddled. _Car crash…_ She looked at the tall dark red headed woman standing a few feet back from Maggie's bed, she had only eyes for Maggie. "I'm an orphan now, aren't I?". She tried to play it cool, she really did, but despite so many things happening at once, the fact that her mother wasn't in the room was crashing down on her like a barrage of noise.

Maggie choked back a sob. "I'm sorry, I, I, I'm so sorry. Tía Kim… your mom didn't survive the crash."

Isa just nodded and laid her head back onto her pillow. The next minutes passed in a blur for her. Another white coat came in, taller than the last one, but with kinder eyes. She asked some questions and then left. There were a couple more women who showed up at the entry to the room, with black and yellow hair respectively. Maggie whispered something to the tall red head beside her. She stooped down and gave the detective a sentimental peck at the top of the head and a comforting hand on her cheek before walking out to join the two new women.

It was just her and Maggie now. "Isa, things right now are bad. They're bad. But I will take care of you okay? I promise. You will not be alone like I was. I love you. I may not always be able to protect you, but you will never know what it's like to have nobody left who loves you. Never."

Maybe it was the new experience of hearing Maggie's voice so broken, and yet unrelenting. Perhaps it was the information sinking in that she'd never walk again, never run again, never get to play in the U21 world cup like she'd been training for. Or maybe, it was the realization that her attentive, beautiful, perfect mother was gone forever. Maybe it was that Maggie's pledge was exactly what she needed to hear right now.

Isa's control broke.

Kara Danvers shuddered at the keening wail coming from the room. Isabella sounded _exactly_ like her cousin Maggie. She reached for Lena's waiting hand. With her other, she pulled Alex into a desperately needed hug. Her older sister had been strong so far, but she was silently crying now too.

After a while, Isabella had tired herself out, she was just sobbing now. The toll of the day was seeping into her, and sleep was not far away. "C-c-can you, um. Can I…"

Maggie didn't need her little cousin, now basically her adopted daughter, to verbalize what she needed. Maggie already knew. The detective rose from her bed, very careful not to disturb the IV drip and sensors. She somehow managed to scoot all the way over onto Isabella's bed.

With her one remaining arm, she cradled Isa and kissed her temple, like Kim used to do with her when she was a broken little lesbian. "I've got you, my little love. You're safe with me, Isa. You're safe with me."

They both fell asleep like that, Maggie wrapped around her little cousin on one bed, protecting her from the evils of the day.


	24. Moving Forward

Part XXIII: Moving Forward

"Ruby, wake up!"

"I don't wanna."

"It's your first day of Junior year! New school and everything."

Ruby rolled around in her bed fruitlessly trying to cling to that last wisp of slumber. She failed. Having failed, she half-heartedly pitched her pillow at the offending voice. A squeak muffled by the mass of blankets over her head confirmed a solid hit.

Just as Ruby's head emerged from her cocoon of linens, her pillow landed squarely on her face. Well she was certainly awake _now_.

Samantha was a patient woman, but letting her daughter be late on the first day of the new school year was not something she was willing to allow. A larger part of her than she was comfortable admitting considered _how would Lena ever trust me if I can't even manage my own household?_

Eventually, her daughter made it to and out of the shower, and to the counter for breakfast. "I made spaghetti pancake, your favourite!" Sam exclaimed as her slightly less disgruntled daughter dropped into the stool opposite her.

Ruby smiled at that and began to dig in. Egg battered pasta with a healthy dose of parmesan and pepper laid into a non-stick skillet until relatively stable, and then flipped; breakfast time was truly great.

A couple minutes later (because Ruby could eat at the speed of any self-respecting half-Worldkiller) Ruby picked up her backpack and was ready to go. The assorted medals hung in the glass covered cabinet rattled slightly as Ruby walked past. Ruby spared the new furniture set up a glance, never ceasing to be so very proud of what her mother had been able to accomplish in her (slightly) younger days in the Olympics. Some of her earliest and fondest memories were watching her mother win gold.

"Remember to text me when you're done with cross-country training okay?" Sam reminded her daughter. Ruby shook her head, clearing away old fond memories.

"I will. I might end up at a friend's house after though. If I make any that is…would that be alright or did you want do something to celebrate the new school year starting?" Ruby asked. Truly, she was fine one way or the other. Samantha would be forever grateful that when Ruby entered her teenage years, she _didn't_ shun her mother as so many teenagers do.

Sam shrugged. "Whatever you want to do kiddo. Just be sure to stay in contact, alright?"

Ruby smiled and nodded. "See you later then, I love you."

"I love you too kiddo. Are you sure you don't want me to drop you off?" Sam said as she dashed over to enclose her daughter in a normally bone-crushing hug.

Ruby shook her head. "It's like a twenty minute walk, I'll make it. And I want to start getting at least a little familiar with the neighbourhood." And with that, Ruby was out the door. Not three minutes later, Sam got into her Tesla and drove to her first day at L Corp.

Moving to a new city was not what Ruby would have liked to do over the last summer, but her mom was personally sought out by Lena Luthor. So you accept that call.

Ruby got that. Hell, she's admired the lone female Luthor for as long as she knew who the woman was. She knew that her mother did too. But frankly, Ruby was gonna miss Auntie Kate in Gotham. Though to be fair, the tall ginger promised to visit when she could.

The walk to school was uneventful. _Gravel to Tempo_ pounded in her ears as she walked up the ramp to the Tano Institute, her new home for the next four years; or, at least the home of her social life. Making sure her crimson-streaked braid was prominently displayed, and her shoulder bag was at exactly the right angle to her hips, she opened the doors and crossed the threshold.

Lena was at work by 7:00am that day. Categorically late for her, but she wasn't about to complain about her fiancée cooking her breakfast on a Monday. Lena checked her watch patiently. She looked at the television which she kept on, muted, at all times, in case any breaking news occurred when she was in her office. Which was actually a frequent occurrence. There was footage of the most recent attack against aliens in Metropolis scrolling across the bottom of the screen. It was a few days later, but Lena's eyes still narrowed subconsciously.

There hadn't been many victims. Less than five, and only one of them was an alien. But no deaths. It was in moments like this she realised how lucky they all were that the current generation of the House of El knew when to ask for help. Superman called for aide immediately. and Kara didn't disappoint.

Lena almost missed the days when Cadmus had been powerful. At least the fight against _them_ was something that felt _tangible_. Fighting against random hate crime perpetrators was like a macabre game of whack-a-mole. But Cadmus had been eradicated a while ago. Lena knew that Kara was 99% sure about what happened, but she never asked. Since she learned the truth of Lena's powers, some events of the past ten years became a little clearer. Like a puzzle piece that connected the larger conspiracy. Lena knew that Kara had a problem with murder. She always would, and Lena loved her for it.

Lena had no such qualms. Not when genocide was in the equation. And Cadmus, her mother, was in the business of wide-scale extermination.

Lena's dark thoughts about her past battles fizzled out when there was a knock at her door. It was her personal assistant, Jessica Fayola Huang. Jess had been one of Lena's better hires.

"Ms. Luth–Lena, your 8:15am is here." The short woman caught herself upon seeing Lena's raised eyebrow. The transition from Ms. Luthor to "I swear to God, just call me Lena" was still underway.

"Thank you Jess. What else do I have today?" Lena asked casually. She knew what else she had. But double confirmation never hurt, and Jess was even more of a perfectionist than she was, somehow.

"Well, after your 8 o'clock, there isn't anything until the afternoon. Ms. Danvers called ahead to alert me to her usual lunchtime visit at 11:45. Ms. Hondo is at 2:15. Mr. Eriksen from Copenhagen is here at 2:45. There is also a phone call scheduled with Justice B.G. Knowles at 6:00pm. All things considered, a very light day. But obviously something might go wrong and you'll have the time cushion to deal with that." Jess smiled as Lena rolled her eyes.

"Thanks Jess. I'm sure you'll update me if anything changes, or if you want any input on that script you're trying to finish up. I'm sure Kara would love a look at it when she's over." Lena smirked as Jess blushed and nodded. She'd totally take Lena up on that offer.

Jess walked back outside Lena's office. "This way, Miss."

The Tano Institute's morning assembly was slightly too long. There were daily _many_ announcements and an impromptu poetry reading from a popular senior. The head of school stood up and walked over to the microphone and gave a positive message of wisdom and inclusivity. The kids that Ruby happened to be sitting next to briefly wondered aloud what the head of school meant by that. Ruby took a closer look at the head of school.

Dr. Maya Rana.

She was slightly taller than average, with sleek, long black curls framing her shoulders and a crimson bindi marking the chakra point on her lower forehead. Ruby couldn't help thinking Dr. Rana was one of the most quietly impressive people she'd ever met. And she and her mother had goddess-level powers.

But as the students all stood to go to class, Ruby lost sight of the impressive head of school. Staying seated for a few moments longer and letting people flow around her, she consulted her schedule. She had second-year Japanese first, then AP English, AP Human Geography, lunch, and finally AP Bio and Advanced Theatre. At least her transferred credits got her out of some of the intro level classes.

She trudged along the skylight-lit hallways until she found her way to the correct classroom. The large desks were arranged so that two students would side by side facing the blackboard. Ruby raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar seating configuration before walking in. Most of the other kids were already here. It was clearly a small class. There was only one boy so far, he was scowling at the girl who sat next to him. From what Ruby could tell, that girl totally stole one of his pens, and was none too shy about it.

Ruby sat down at the farthest desk from the door, alone. It wasn't long until the rest of the students filed in. Ruby blushed when one of the girls went to the front of the class and began writing on the board. That girl was actually the teacher.

Ruby looked at the occupied desks around her and her fears were confirmed. This was a tightly-knit group of kids who had already struggled through Japanese 1 together.

Ruby looked at the empty space available next to her. _Oh well. It's not like I'm a stranger to loneliness_.

The door to the classroom opened once again. A tall girl using dual assistive canes slowly entered the room. She was clearly quite shy as she glanced over all the heads pointed in her direction. The teacher kindly gestured to the empty seat next to Ruby. She gave a fleeting smile before making her way to Ruby's side. Ruby was actually impressed with the easy with which the cane girl dismounted her backpack, managed both canes, and landed in her seat without any kerfuffle.

The woman who walked into Lena's office was somebody she had researched extensively. She was after all a national hero, in the sports world at least. But Lena remembered watching her win gold metals like it was effortless back when she lived with Lillian and Lex as a teenager. Hell, this woman was only a teenager too at the time.

But that wasn't why Lena hired this woman from Gotham. No, Lena was in need of a bodyguard, and who better than a fellow alien. What kind exactly, Lena wasn't sure, but she was confident that the woman in front of her was going to be worth the ludicrous salary Lena was offering. Lena took her secrecy as a Kryptonian seriously, bulletproof she may be. The best way to ensure that secret isn't outed so far as Lena was concerned was to hire a top-notch bodyguard. Supergirl shouldn't have to sacrifice her time/other people's lives to protect the fact that Lena Luthor was no human.

"Ms. Luthor, I'm so pleased to be here." Samantha said as she walked into the room. Her eyes quickly darting around cataloguing exit strategies, etc. "I do hope your glass is resistant to heavier weapons than hand guns," she couldn't help but point out a huge problem with the security of this room.

"It's Lena, please," the sitting woman said as she smiled at her new hire.

"Then you must call me Samantha, or Sam. My surname has had a couple changes over the years, and my first name is just more _me_ ," Samantha said as she sat in the chair that Lena indicated.

Lena smiled as she extended a hand and was met with Samantha's as they shook.

Lena leaned back and looked the intimidating woman sitting opposite her up and down, "Samantha it is. So, before we get started, is there anything I can get you?"

Ruby noticed the girl sitting next to her was consciously not making eye contact with anyone. And her right hand trembled slightly, like she didn't know what to do with the tension building up in it now that she wasn't using one of her canes.

The young and diminutive teacher spoke up after a moment of silence, "Now that we're all here, I'd like everyone to introduce themselves. Since it's the first day you can use English to do so if you'd like. I'll start. I am Winona Sasaki. You may call me Winona, Sensei, or Sasaki Sensei. But please not Winona Sensei or Teacher anything. I tried those at my last school, and it was just too weird for me." There was a chorus of small laughs. "I'm new here, and I'm pleased to meet all of you. Also, the person sitting next to you will be your partner for the rest of term. After which you may switch if things haven't been working out. But we'll discuss that later."

There were a few murmurs of surprise, some of silent jubilation, and a few scattered though muffled swears. Ruby looked at the girl next to her. She was kind of beautiful, and her shyness earlier didn't hurt either. The girl didn't look at Ruby, she was focused very much on the desk in front of her, a frown on her face.

Winona nodded at the students on the other side of the room from Ruby to start.

"I'm Erika Ma."

"I'm Alexia Masuda "

"Hello, I am Natalia Nikitenko"

"Anna Klose."

"Su Jung Kim "

"Trevor Riley"

"I'm Jane Villa"

"Hi, I'm Kelly Okano"

Winona now turned to the girl at Ruby's desk who did not speak her name immediately like the others had. She seemed to realise this, her eyes widened at looked up to meet the Sensei's.

"I'm Isabella Martinez. But I'd prefer if y'all called me Adelaide instead. It's one of my middle names" Her voice was timid, and Ruby noticed her squeezing her thigh with the hand that was hidden from the other kids.

Sasaki Sensei nodded and made the appropriate notation on her roll call. "And so it shall be, Adelaide." Adelaide Martinez gave the sensei a flicker of a smile before her eyes returned to the desk in front of her.

After finishing the small edit to the roll call sheet on her tablet, the young sensei turned to Ruby expectantly. "And you are?"

Ruby replied, "I'm Ruby Arias Reign."

* * *

Author's Note: I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry about that. Please let me know what you think? This chapter is a little different than the others. Let me know if you want something specific plot/character-wise going forward. I won't promise I'll do it, but any and all of your suggestions will be read and considered.


	25. Domesticity

Part XXIV: Domesticity

"So, Lena hired a bodyguard? Why?" Alex asked as she set the plates on the table.

"To keep up appearances? Maybe L Corp's board wanted to protect their investments? Maybe Kara suggested it? I'm not totally sure." Maggie replied. She wasn't really paying attention to Alex's question; not that the auburn-haired woman could really blame her wife.

"Isa's gonna be fine, she's going to the best school in the city, she'll be home any minute now." Alex tried to assure her wife.

Maggie nodded, subconsciously flexing the fingers of her Lena Luthor-designed prosthetic prototype. Alex lightly put her hand over Maggie's prosthetic one.

"Maggie, look at me," Alex used her other hand to lightly tilt the shorter woman's chin up so that they were making eye contact. "Isabella will be fine. We've done everything we can, it's in her hands now. And she's got damn capable hands," Alex squeezed and released Maggie's metal hand as she says it.

Maggie can't help but crack a grin at this. "Fine, I'll try to calm down. No promises though."

She goes over to get a cup of water. The opens the cabinet and uses her right arm (the prosthetic) to fetch one of the metal cups. They figured out pretty quickly that while Lena's prototype was beyond anything Maggie could've hoped for after losing her arm, it wasn't without an adjustment period; an adjustment period in which she'd broken many glasses, and given Alex a hairline fracture. Maggie still apologized for that. But Alex would hear none of it. She'd remark instead that Kara had done far worse when she gives too excitable hugs, even now. So, while Maggie learned on trusting herself, they used metal cups instead.

"So, new jobs huh? Did you ever think you'd leave the DEO?" Maggie asked softly. Truth be told, she was also nervous about embarking on a new career. But while she loved being a detective with the NCPD Science Branch, at the end of the day, staying alive was more important; for Isa, but also for Alex. Besides, with Lena occasionally helping out when there was a truly dangerous threat, and J'onn recruiting other aliens to help patrol the more dangerously inclined of their number was a genius move…that Isabella offhandedly suggested one day as a hypothetical during game night. Alex was sure to take that suggestion to her space dad/former superior.

Alex had left the DEO. formally, at least. That wasn't to say she wouldn't consult on a mission, or give her insight when a batch of trafficked aliens were recovered, but her days of armed combat were behind her. Unless of course some city-wide nightmare like the Daxamite invasion happened again. The horrors of that day were still being felt, a few years later. Catco Media may have saturated the news with stories of sunny recovery and positivity (which was very much needed), but there were so many people who's lives were destroyed.

"I really didn't," Alex replied softly. It had not been an easy decision. There was yelling and arguments with basically everyone she knew. Maggie looked at the far away look in Alex's eyes as she retrieved the sparkling apple cider.

"Hey, it's alright if you don't have something lined up yet. Hell, I'm still looking for something." Maggie was swishing her water around aimlessly in her remaining human hand. "Do you think I should go into the arts? That's pretty safe, right?" Maggie asked.

"I think it depends on what you enjoy. I think you'd be a great mystery-crime writer if you wanted to, you've certainly got the research department covered," Alex said as she sat by Maggie on their couch.

Maggie chuckled. "Maybe I'll write about a badass FBI agent who falls for a gorgeous cop named–"

"Named Alex?" Alex drawled, seeing where this was going.

"Named Fernando Santiago." Maggie finished with a shit-eating grin. Alex casually reached over and tossed a throw pillow at her wife.

Maggie relented trying to smother her giggles, "Okay okay. They'd both be lesbians, obviously."

There was a knock from the front door. Maggie sprung up from the couch, nailing Alex in the face with the pillow as an added bonus, and practically sprinted to the door.

There was laughter coming from the other side. Two voices, girls.

Maggie opened the door.

Isa's smiling face was the first thing she saw. "Hey there kiddo," Maggie paused, taking into account the shorter unfamiliar girl who was clearly trying not to laugh at something her Isa had said. "Who's this?"

Isa turned to introduce her friend, but the girl had already extended her hand in a firm and confident gesture. "I'm Ruby Reign." Her voice was slightly high pitched, probably hit puberty late. Or nervous.

Maggie's eyes turned to her young cousin, "I'm Maggie, pleased to meet you," she said shaking the other girl's hand.

Once they released each other, Ruby seemed to pull back a bit. "Well, I'll just go now."

Maggie frowned. Isa said, "Are you sure? You could totally join us for dinner if you want." Isa quick glancee at Maggie, who blinked in silent confirmation.

"Maybe next time. My mom will want me home for dinner. She has a thing for celebrating first days and sh-stuff like that." Ruby's cheeks coloured a little as she narrowly avoided swearing in front of an adult. Even if the adult in question was shorter than her.

"Is that so? We should call a taxi then," Alex chimed in as she had followed her wife to the door. "I'm Alex by the way."

"Ruby," the teenager replied and quicly shook the taller woman's hand. Isa rolled her eyes at all the formalities.

"Ruby, are you sure?" Isa asked.

Ruby took a small breath and said, "Yeah. I said I might be over at someone's house, but I could tell she really wanted to spend tonight with me. And you don't need to call a taxi, Miss…" Ruby trailed off, having no clue how to address Alex.

"It's just Alex sweetie." Alex replied, waving away all formalities. "Are you sure about the taxi? Are you close by?"

Ruby shrugged, "Not really, but my mom's driver is nearly here," Ruby said as she pulled out her phone, which indeed had a text open which said, **"2 MIN."**

Ruby rolled her eyes and chuckled a little. "My mom just got a new job, and her boss got her a driver. The first think she has the poor bastard do is pick up her daughter. But if I had my way, I'd have taken the bus," She rushed to say. She didn't want these people to think she was a snob. _Oops, probably could've just said Uber or Lyft instead_.

Both Alex and Maggie smirked. They were friends of Lena Luthor after all. That flustered 'I'm really wealthy but I sometimes accidently throw it around in benign ways, but I'm still really frugal when I can be' expression on the new girl's face was something they were well aquainted with.

"Don't sweat it kid. Thanks for walking Isa home," Maggie said with a wide smile.

Ruby's eyes found Isa's questioningly with the use of 'Isa' instead of the 'Adelaide' that the girl had mandated teachers use at school. Isa mouthed 'Later' at her new friend, which wasn't missed by either of her guardians.

Ruby's phone dinged and she checked it. "Seems like my ride's here. It was great to meet you two. See you tomorrow then!" With a chipper grin, Ruby walked back down the hallway leading to the stairs.

As soon as Ruby was gone, Isa found herself smothered in a double hug. "Guys, chill," Isa said. But she should've known by now that neither Alex nor Maggie had any sort of chill when Isa was involved.

After the awkwardly long, but never unwelcome, hug, the three went back into their flat. "So, you made a friend?" Maggie couldn't resist asking.

"Yep. She's great." Isa replied.

Downstairs on the curb, a sleek new Tesla loitered in the loading zone. After a couple of minutes, Ruby walked out of the building, thanking the door-man as she left. She got into the car. "You know," a sultry voice coming from the front-passenger side said, "you should really check which car you're getting into, kid." Ruby rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, you knew I could see you through the tinted windows right?" Ruby smirked.

"Yes Gayle, don't give Miss Reign a hard time," a softer and distinctly English voice replied pointedly. "Seatbelt on, and we're off, Miss Reign" she finished.

"Hi Imra, Gayle. Seatbelt is on. Let's go home," Ruby smiled at the two beautiful women in the front of the car.


	26. Two Girls Meet

Part 26: A Fateful Meeting

 _Sasaki Sensei nodded and made the appropriate notation on her roll call. "And so it shall be, Adelaide." Adelaide Martinez gave the sensei a flicker of a smile before her eyes returned to the desk in front of her._

 _After finishing the small edit to the roll call sheet on her tablet, the young sensei turned to Ruby expectantly. "And you are?"_

 _Ruby replied, "I'm Ruby Arias Reign."_

Isabella 'Adelaide' Martinez was actually scary good at Japanese. And frankly, Ruby thought _she'd_ be the smartest in class. Wow was she wrong. Since it was the first day and there wasn't much to do other than read through the syllabus, which took less than five minutes, Sasaki Sensei decided they should play charades in Japanese.

As newly second year students, Sasaki didn't have super high hopes. But it would be an effective means of judging where all the students were at skill-wise and it'd be hella funny. She nailed it on both accounts. She was not ready for the skill level of both Ruby Reign and Isab–Adelaide (she mentally corrected herself) Martinez.

Adelaide and Ruby cleaned up. Like, it wasn't even close. Adelaide was a little worried about hostility from the other students, since she and Ruby left no competitors in their wake. It turned out the other kids were mostly chill. Alexia Masuda wasn't totally chill, but she wasn't outright hostile either.

Ruby looked over her teammate, who was slightly flushed after the last round. Imitating a windmill got her breathing hard, even if she did it from a sitting position.

"Nice job!"

Adelaide looked at her partner. She mostly got her breath under control. "Not so bad yourself Ruby."

Ruby grinned. She glanced at the digital clock on the wall. "Hey, what's your next class?"

"Give me a moment check my schedule," Adelaide muttered as she rummaged through her sleek laptop bag that actually concealed dual shoulder straps in addition to the single sling.

The taller Latina drew forth a rumpled schedule. Ruby silently conceded that her own personal schedule was actually, in a worse state than Adelaide's.

"I've got AP English, then Human geo, a free period, and finally drama II," Adelaide said matter of factly. Adelaide noticed Ruby's winning smile at her words. "You okay there?"

"Yeah, it's just, we have a lot of classes in common is all. C'mon, let's walk to English together.

"Okay," Adelaide shrugged as the over-excited Ruby packed up her stuff.

The two were out in the hall a few moments later. There was a brief moment where Ruby considered offering Adelaide a hand, since she had two walking canes, but quickly denied her helpful impulse. _Adelaide would probably take it the wrong way_ , she thought as she watched the taller girl put her bag on and gathered her canes.

The kids in the hall rushing to their next class all avoided Adeleaide like the plague. Not that they were being assholes, they just didn't want to run into the girl with canes. Then again, they may just be assholes. The two girls were walking for a few minutes in silence when Ruby spoke up.

"It's probably a good thing we're walking together, cause I don't know where any of these classes are," Ruby said with a sigh of relief.

Isabella Adelaide stopped moving, "Wait, you're new here?"

Ruby turned back with a tight grin, "Yeah, is that alright?"

Adelaide's eyes were a little wide when she said, "I'm not one to judge, and it's just that I'm a transfer student too, so I think we may be lost."

Ruby's face became comical in disbelief and she frantically looked down at her out-dated watch. Adelaide looked at the room numbers they had passed. She looked down at her schedule again, which she had stuffed into her jacket pocket. "I think it's two levels up. We're right below it, if the floor plan is the same on the second and third floor." She hesitated before continuing, "You don't know if this wing has an elevator do you?"

Ruby looked back at her companion and briefly glanced at her canes. "If there isn't an elevator, will you be able to make it up the stairs?"

Adelaide shrugged, "Yeah. It won't hurt me or anything, but I'll _definitely_ be a bit late." She hesitated again, "I'm not really used to being out of my wheelchair yet."

Ruby recognized the telltale signs of lying by omission, but it didn't make anything Adelaide just said any less valid. Ruby tilted her head in thought. She could totally carry Adelaide up the stairs. After all, being able to lift a teenage girl would be nothing for her, even a very tall one like Adelaide. But Ruby is also her mom's car jack on occasion, so she doesn't sweat lifting people. Although…her heard does flutter a teensy bit at the thought of bodily picking up Adelaide…just a tiny flutter.

Adelaide was looking at her feet with something that resembled… _contempt_?

"Well, it's not too bad if you're not alone," Ruby started. Adelaide's sour expression turned to confusion as she looked Ruby in her eyes.

"What do you mean? There' plenty of time to make it if you hurry," Adelaide replied in a quiet voice.

Ruby tilted her head back to make up for the height difference in making contact with her classmate. "We'll be late together," she shrugged. Like it was the most sensible thing in the world.

Before Adelaide could protest, Ruby continued talking, "Besides, I want to be your friend, and friends don't abandon each other. Even if it's for getting to class on time."

"You really want to be my friend? I'm not going to be your pity project you know. I've run into those types before," Adelaide responded. Her voice wasn't unkind, just tapered from experience.

Ruby laid a hand on Adelaide's atop one of her canes. It was really warm. "I'd like to be your friend. I mean, at the very least, we'll be spending a lot of time together at school cause of our schedule and what not. Besides, we're both kinda weirdos and we're _also_ both new here. I figured we could make the best of it and do it all together." Ruby took a deep breath after that little speech.

Adelaide's eyes darted down to their connected hands. "Did you rehearse that speech?"

Ruby blushed, "Maybe a little. My mom says I'm too forward sometimes."

Adelaide grinned. "Well, you make a compelling argument." They walked for a few moments without talking until they reached the stairs. In fairness, they were not ugly, as far as stairs went. Before Ruby could offer a hand, Adelaide determinedly made the first steps onto the stairs. Adelaide wasn't lying, her grimace wasn't one of pain, but concentration.

When they made it to the first landing, the taller girl with the two canes asked, "What do you mean we're _both_ weirdos?"


	27. School Day Revelations

Part 27: School Day Revelations

She looked down at Ruby, who glanced up, and then down. Unbeknownst to Adelaide, she was using her enhanced senses to check if the coast was clear. It was. She took a breath while she finalized the words in her head.

 _Well, her goes,_ Ruby thought. She knew her mom would be displeased, but it was _also_ her mom who told her to live life on her own terms and follow her intuition. "How do I put this?" Ruby started. She looked up to meet Adelaide curious gaze, then she looked down at her legs. Her very cybernetic synthetic legs. "You're a 6'2 _girl_ , a double amputee, and both of your legs are scarily sophisticated cybernetics. Like, Star Wars or Fullmetal Alchemist level sophisticated. So are your canes, actually."

Adelaide's eyes grew a little wounded. "I _know_ I'm a freak, you didn't need to remind me." Ruby faltered, wow, she had been rather blunt, but she knew how to salvage this budding friendship. Probably. Her mom would be displeased if this went poorly.

"At least you're all human. So, in the end, you fit in better than I ever will," Ruby continued slowly, making sure Adelaide didn't miss any words.

"You're an alien?" Adelaide was flabbergasted. To her credit, she didn't shout. "But you –,"

"–look so normal? Yeah, I know. Looking at me, you wouldn't know I'm only part white too. I'm like the queen of passing." Ruby rolled her eyes. _So_ many conversations trying to explain she wasn't totally white. Some people just couldn't see past her lighter complexion, on both sides.

Ruby continued, "But yeah, my mom's an alien who got knocked up with me when she was in college. So, I'm half human. Probably…I mean, my mom didn't exactly _remember_ who my dad was, so his being an alien too might actually explain some things…or a meta-human." Ruby had kind of lost the plot a little with this tangent, but she shook it off and came back to the present. "You stick out on the outside, me, on the inside. We'll kick ass."

What Adelaide said next isn't what Ruby was expecting, "Wait was you mom…"

Ruby realised how her words had led Adelaide to a horrifying conclusion, "Raped? No. Granny is a fundamentalist 'sex before marriage=STRAIGHT TO HELL' type, and my mom basically rebelled by getting a doctorate degree _and_ screwing everything that moved. I think she took Captain Jack Harkness' life philosophy a little too close to heart if you know what I mean." Ruby chuckled. Adelaide's quick 'I understood that reference' grin was not missed by Ruby.

Adelaide's eyebrows came together in a small frown, "You know about my…prosthetics because you've got like, alien mojo right? Not 'cause I'm too obvious about it?"

Ruby started laughing. She wasn't doing it too loudly, but it was definitely audible in the stairwell as they began climbing slowly again. "I've got enhanced senses, so it was definitely my 'alien mojo'. I love that, can I steal that phrase?"

Adelaide broke into a small grin too. "Sure. So, you've got powers and stuff? Like Supergirl?" Ruby looked at her quizzically. "I didn't mean to be racist, but she looks human too. And I've seen a lot of non-human looking aliens, and the only ones who really look like us, I mean human, are shape shifters or from the Rao system," Ruby's eyebrows raised in respect at her new friend's detective skills. Her raised eyebrows however looked like offense to Adelaide who was now scrambling to fix her imagined error, "Oh my god. I'm sorry, I was being racist. I don't want to be an alien racist!"

Ruby laughed again, patting Adelaide's hand as she did so. "You're in the clear as far as being an alien racist goes. You'd make a good detective actually. And you know of the star Rao. I'm impressed; most people only know the Supers' planet was called Krypton, and only 'cause of that big-ass park in Metropolis. Big fan of the Super family, Adelaide?" Ruby was smirking now.

Adelaide rolled her eyes. "I _may_ have had a crush on Supergirl last year, but I'm totally over it." There was a beat of silence in which Adelaide realised she just outed herself to Ruby. A girl who she barely knew, despite this revelatory walk to class. A girl who's hand was lightly gripping hers atop her cane. Adelaide's cheeks flared red, and she suddenly made to jerk her hand away from Ruby's out of shame.

Ruby's grip kept held her still. Like, her grip still felt gentle, it didn't get tighter. But her soft fingers and palm were ironclad. Adelaide knew that she wouldn't be able to go anywhere in Ruby's grip. But the sinister implications of Ruby's strength disappeared with her delicate reassurance, "Hey, that's fine. Liking girls is absolutely fine. Besides, _I_ had a crush on that chick Livewire, so at least you're greatest worry isn't 'oh no I've got a thing for villains now'. My mother was _not_ pleased with me about that," Ruby chuckled, remembering their argument over Indian take-out that night.

Adelaide's brows scrunched in concern. Ruby played back her own words in her head and hastily corrected, "My mom's totally cool. She didn't have a problem with the gay thing, just my 'terrible taste in women'," she finished air-quoting her mother's words. "But I got over that crush a while back as well."

Adelaide let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She'd never, _never_ been this upfront with anybody before. Not even Margarita. Adelaide was still bummed that Maggie had changed her name after her parents kicked her out. 'Margaret' just didn't have the same ring to it.

"Oh. Okay," Adelaide exhaled a loaded breath as they reached the final landing. She didn't know it, but her mouth had formed a secret smile now that some of the heavy stuff had been a complete non-issue with Ruby. "Um, class should be the third door on the right."

Ruby looked ahead and nodded. "It is. I think. We're studying Shakespeare this term, right?"

"You mean you didn't do the summer reading?" Adelaide gasped. "We're supposed to have come up for a thesis for an essay about _Twelfth Night_. We'll probably have that essay due at the end of the week." Adelaide was nearly in panic mode on the behalf of her new friend.

Ruby cocked her head and thought for a moment. "That's one of my favourite Shakespeare plays. I've got this. I just need to word it right; something about how Maria and Viola should've been together, but were thwarted by compulsive heteronormativity _and_ misogyny on the part of their writer."

Adelaide nodded, at the first part, after all, she _very much_ shipped those two when she was reading it. "Wasn't he basically an open bisexual?"

Ruby shrugged, "You're right, he wanted that D. But I'm talking about bias against women loving women. It's not like there's bias in his works against gay men. I mean, have you read _Coriolanus_?" She shrugged as they neared the door. Class _was_ well underway. They were just under ten minutes late.

Adelaide realised for the first time, empathy and physical beauty aside, that Ruby Reign could very well be her soul mate. It was definitely the Shakespeare talk that convinced her. It was a flash of clarity that was quickly followed by Maggie's mantra directed often at Alex echoing in her head, "ride or die". _Probably should start out as friends first_ , Isabella Adelaide thought as they got within a couple metres of the door.

Ruby turned back to Adelaide with a shy smile on her face, "Hey, are you doing anything after school?"


End file.
